Petals on the Sea
by FuriousHope
Summary: fem!percy After fighting two wars for the gods, Persephone Jackson is tired. When the fates take two of Percy's most beloved people from her, she has to learn to live again and find a new family.
1. Prologue-Tragedy

**To make the story easier to tell, I have changed several things. If you don't like the story, that's fine, everybody has their own taste. This is how this story went in my head and I will not change it.**

Prologue

Persephone Jackson was the type of girl that everybody adored. She had bright green eyes and a laugh that sounded like a thousand wind chimes singing in harmony. Her rich, almost black hair floated down her back in long waves. She had a lithe, but strong body, built for survival. If she had something to say, she would say it. Two wars had left her knowing that, no matter what, she had to stay on the bright side of things.

"Mom! I'm home!" she yelled, setting her bag on the floor and trotting through the house, looking for the beautiful woman who could make any place into a home.

"Oh, look. The hero returns." A dark, rich voice called from behind her. Flinching, Percy drew her pen out of her pocket and clicked it. Immediately, it turned into a long, deadly golden sword.

"Too late." The voice was now behind her, the light bulb above her flickered, leaving her in momentary darkness. A wet and slithery monster touched her hand and she shrieked, swinging her sword at whatever it was.

"Who are you?" she cried out, trying to see in the darkness. Something fell off a shelf and shattered to her left and she swung that way, only for the lights to shift back on. Persephone would have much rather have kept the lights off. The sight in front of her made her gag and fall to the ground. Two unrecognizable bodies lay on the ground in front of her. Blood coated the floor beneath them, turning their clothes to a rich red.

"No!" she screamed, falling to the ground. She knew who they were, but couldn't move.

"No." this time, it was a whisper with an air of disbelief. Her eyes held hundreds of emotions at once, turning her eyes into a murky blizzard of greens and blues.

"Yes. This is your reward, pretty princess. This is what you deserve and this is only the beginning." She didn't have the strength to turn, she was in too much shock. The faceless voice laughed once more. It sounded more like a death cry then a laugh. The front door slammed shut, and Persephone was alone. Tears streamed down her face as her sword fell out of her grip and she keeled over, throwing up multiple times. What was she supposed to do? Where was she to go?


	2. Confusion

Chapter 1

It was a goddess who found her first. In a police station with a blanket wrapped around her. Tears streaked her cheeks and every once in a while, a strangled sob escaped her mouth.

"Persephone." It was barely whispered, but it was enough to catch the attention of the small, heartbroken demigod. Eyes wide with fear, she looked up to see the auburn hair and silver eyes rushing across the room.

"What happened?" Artemis was fond of the girl who had saved their thrones twice. Percy shook her head, lost in the memories of the past few hours. It was a police officer who answered for her.

"An anonymous call led us to Sally Blofis's apartment. When we got there, we found this young girl sobbing and in shock. The bodies of Sally and Paul Blofis were found brutally murdered. We believe that they were killed shortly before Persephone Jackson entered the residence." He turned away after that, back to his computer and the mountain of files that surrounded him.

"Come Persephone." Artemis wasn't one who left girls stranded. She wrapped protective arms around the girl, now in her twenty year old form to be older then the sixteen year old. She led the girl out the door and to her chariot, disguised as a silver mercury Milan. It wasn't anything fancy, but it worked. Percy barely noticed the scenery changes, stuck inside her head and with the gruesome and horrifying memories that refused to let her go. Soon, they were at the empire state building. With an air of sadness around her, Artemis led Percy to the elevator and held her as they made the long journey up to Olympus.

"Why Olympus?" the broken voice of Percy broke the silence and silver eyes met cloudy green

"The Olympians must be warned of the new threat, and you need a place to stay the night." The elevator door dinged open and Artemis took Percy's hand and led her through the quiet and sleeping of Olympus.

"I thought Olympus was always a bustling city." Persephone's remark surprised Artemis, and she looked quickly back at the girl.

'Not always, we all need sleep. This is one of those nights where there are no parties and Olympus is peaceful. These are the times I enjoy being a goddess." She answered. They had reached the throne room doors by then and with a shove, Artemis pushed the great doors open to reveal a small fire and a young girl tending to it. Upon there arrival. Hestia switched forms, turning to an age similar to Artemis before quickly racing over to them. Her calm, fire lit eyes instantly calmed Percy, and the tears that had been racing down her cheeks returned. She raced to the goddess of the hearth and hugged her tight. Artemis was slightly surprised by their relationship, but shook herself out of her daze enough to call the Olympians. She sat in her throne, gazing down at Hestia and Percy with sadness.

A flash of thunder announced the arrival of Zeus and his wife. They both regarded the three in the room with cool gazes. That was, until the realized who Hestia was hugging. Zeus may not seem like a good guy, but it was hard being a king. He really did care for his children. E cared for all the demigods, but sometimes he had to be the bad guy. A look of sadness overtook his face as his wife rushed over to the demigod (Persephone and her had been on good terms since she had found out why Hera had erased her memory). As the minutes wore on, the gods and goddesses flashed in at various time from different places. The goddesses would go straight to Hestia and the others while the gods stood around with looks of sadness or uncaringness. None but Artemis knew exactly what had happened, but they knew the intensity of the situation.

Poseidon was the last to arrive. When he saw his daughter being held by the goddess, his face filled with shock and he sprinted over to her. Taking her from the goddess, he hugged her and glanced at Zeus, as if asking for an explanation. For an answer, Zeus called the meeting to order with a sharp whistle. Hestia and Poseidon stayed with the demigod, but the others swept to their thrones with unease. Artemis took this as her time to speak and drew a deep breath, as if preparing herself for the horror she was about to tell.

"Persephone Jackson's mother and step-father were brutally murdered and left for Percy to find. I'm unsure what happened, but I believe that something happened while she was at the apartment to have her so scared. I wasn't sure were to take her once I picked her up from the police station, so I brought her here." Gasps were heard from around the room, and tears fell from the goddesses faces. Hestia sat back on her hearth and swirled the fire idly, lost in thought. It was well known that Percy's boyfriend had cheated on her after their fall into Tartarus and that the girl had been abandoned by many of the camp kids. Having no longer been the hero, she had been tossed aside.

"What now?" Demeter finally asked, glancing down at the girl with sympathy. Most of the gods looked staggered, none of them knew exactly how to go forward in this situation.

"Well, we all know that camp half-blood is no place for this demigod. With everything going on, she'll likely become forgotten about and who knows what would happen then." It was Dionysus. He spoke in his normal, bored tone that said he didn't care what happened to Percy.

"Then what do we do?" Artemis questioned worriedly. Everybody watched the two in the middle of the room with soft expressions. Poseidon was hugging Percy like if he let go, she would drift away in the wind. Percy still had tears coming down her face, but her eyes had a calmer look about them, not the scared one she had had minutes before.

"For tonight, we should allow Percy to stay in Poseidon's temple. Tomorrow, when everybody is over the initial shock, we'll meet again. By then, Percy may be able to help us understand what is going on." Zeus answered tiredly. It was obvious that the council was in no shape to vote and most of them flashed away, back to their various homes.

"Hey, Uncle P, can I speak to you?" Only a few gods were left in the room, and Apollo used this to his advantage. He ran over to his uncle who still stood near Hestia. Poseidon turned towards him, shifting his daughter so that she was slightly behind him, as if she needed protecting from the energetic, child-like god.

"Yes, you may." Poseidon motioned for him to continue.

"Can you two come to my temple? It'll be real quick, I just want to have a look at Persephone." He spoke quietly and his aura was oddly still.

"As long as it's quick." Poseidon answered tiredly before flashing him and his daughter to the medical ward of Apollo's temple. The sun god followed behind them, ushering them into a room with bleached walls and medical machines of all types lining the corners of the room. Not wasting any time, he shifted his clothes so that they now looked more like a doctor's and sat the daughter of the seas upon the snow colored bed.

"Do you feel any pain?" was his first question. He had ushered Poseidon out of the room and now the girl looked strangely vulnerable and nothing like the hero he'd seen before this day.

"No." her answer was soft, and whispery. Apollo could tell that she wasn't there with him at the moment. She was hiding in the deep recesses of her mind.

"Good. I want you to follow my finger with your eyes." He placed his hand between her eyes and tested them one by one, nodding lightly as if to praise her.

"Okay. I'm going to put you to sleep now. You shouldn't have any dreams and if you do, I need you to tell me tomorrow, okay?" he asked, the girl nodded her head. He placed two fingers on her forehead and motioned down with his hand.

"Sleep." He whispered, and her head lolled backwards and she fell against the white sheets of the hospital bed.

"Uncle P, you can come in now." He called, jumping when the god rushed in before he was done talking.

"Can I take her now?" the god of the sea asked, picking his daughter up gently as he did so.

"Yes, you can. I would like to see her tomorrow. Before or after the meeting, it doesn't matter. You'll need to check on her several times tonight. Make sure her breathing is regular and that she's not dreaming." Poseidon nodded at him before flashing to his palace. Luckily, he had a room already picked out for his daughter, and he gently carried her to her room. The lights were off and instead of flipping them on, he left the door open so that the light of the hallway spilled in. Laying her on the bed, he contemplated for a second. Percy's bloodstained clothes would have to go. He wondered who he should call to switch them, but was startled from his thoughts when a gentle voice rose from the doorway.

"Here. Let me." It said, and he turned to see both his wife and Triton standing, staring in at them.

"Why?" his voice broke, for fear that his wife and son would be angry, but his wife just smiled softly.

"She's been through so much. It is not her fault what the fates destined to happen." She stepped into the room and looked down at the peaceful face of the black haired sixteen year old.

"Nor is it her fault that she was born. I wish to change my ways towards her. I used to be angry, but I want a little sister." Triton smiled softly at his family before stepping away from the doorway and back into the hallway. They could hear his soft footsteps as he walked down the steps.

"We both feel terrible for how we acted. Do you think she'll be able to forgive us?" Amphitrite asked softly as her husband made his way to the door.

"Athena says she sometimes believes that Percy's fatal flaw is forgiveness, not loyalty." He smiled at his wife and let his gaze rest worriedly on Percy for a moment before leaving.


	3. Family?

**I grammar and spell check myself, so if I miss anything and you see it, please let me know! I might do a rewrite after the whole thing is written, depending on what's on my mind. I do not know how often I will update, but I promise I'll update as often as I can. It could be once a day, week, or month. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. **

Chapter Two

Triton stood over his sister, unsure what to do. His father had told him to check on Percy and he wasn't sure exactly what that meant. Holding his hand above her mouth, he checked for breath and sighed with relief when he felt it. Suddenly, the whole world was tipped upside down and he was looking up at his sister as she held a lethal blade to his throat.

"Uh, hi." He whispered, his voice an octave higher than usual. Percy glared down at him for a moment before getting up and leaning against the wall. Her eyes shown with uncertainty as she watched him stand hastily.

"What do you want?" she growled, twirling the sword from hand to hand, it was now in pen form.

"Dad told me to check on you. I was just making sure you were breathing." He muttered, glaring at the ground.

"It would be better off if I wasn't breathing." She shot back, sitting down on the bed as a sad look replaced her uneasy one.

"What?" Triton almost yelled, before realizing that his dad and mom were in the next room.

"If I had did in Tartarus like I was supposed to, none of this would've happened." She growled, glaring at him with a sudden lethal expression. Triton, of course, was shocked. She had been to Tartarus?

"You went to Tartarus? How are you still alive?" he gasped, looking at her in amazement. Percy sighed and shook her head.

"I shouldn't be. Everything there is meant to kill you, and when you make it out, the nightmares still haunt you. That's why I attacked you, I thought you were a monster." Towards the end, she whispered, as if unsure whether to say it or not.

"I fell in with Anthony, and he betrayed me after we got back. Cheated on me with some girl from Camp Jupitar. Nico's been there too." She growled. Her moods were shifting quickly and Triton couldn't figure out how to react.

"Wow. Why doesn't father or the others know?" he questioned, sitting down beside her. Percy stiffened before looking up at him, tears swam in her vision.

"We never told them. Only Nico really knows what goes on down there. Anthony's Athena brain didn't allow him to see or feel half the stuff I saw. He came out fine, but-"she broke off, unsure where to go from there. She was utterly shocked when she felt arms around her and stiffened slightly before returning the hug.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted in the past. I was angry at father and took it out on you. If I still can, I want to be the big brother you never had." He looked down into her eyes and Percy smiled back at him.

"I think I'd like that." She buried her face in his shoulder and they stayed in the position for quite a while. Triton was lost in thought when someone cleared there throat in the doorway. Persephone jumped, pushing herself off the bed and into a defensive position before easing out of it slightly.

"Mom, Hi." Triton smiled at his mother before seeing that Percy had downcast her eyes. He put a hand on her shoulder and shifter her so that she stood straight beside him.

"Let's go down to the kitchen, we wouldn't want to wake your father up." Amphitrite motioned with her hand for them to follow her. Triton followed first, with Percy close behind. They weaved down several hallways before entering a large kitchen with soft tan walls and black granite countertops. Amphitrite went to the fridge and started pulling stuff out while Triton sat down on a stool, motioning for Percy to follow him.

"What's for breakfast?" Triton asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the counter. Amphitrite had just pulled out a bowl of fruit and set in front of him when he asked.

"You'll see. How about you two grab some of this and go outside for a while. Apollo wants to see Percy and it'll be thirty minutes before the food's ready." She smiled softly at Percy and snapped her fingers. Percy's pajamas were replaced with dark jeans and a silver t-shirt with a trident on it.

"Thank you, my lady." Percy said softly, bowing her head in respect. Amphitrite frowned, but didn't say anything as Triton pulled his sister out of the room.

"Come on!" the sooner we get to Apollo's, the sooner we can get back to eat!" Triton called, yanking his sister out the door and onto Olympus's busy streets.

If you weren't street smart, you'd have easily gotten lost on the streets of Olympus. Triton weaved in and out of groups of nymphs and satyrs. He called quick greetings to friends and ignored those who only wanted his attention. Percy followed close behind, hoping that nobody would notice her, but that was impossible. After saving Olympus several times, her face was easily recognizable and people often stopped to point.

"Do you have to be so popular?" Triton grumbled after being stopped for the fifth time.

"Well, if I wasn't, you'd most likely be dead or in some titan's prison." Percy grumbled back, ducking her head to avoid being seen by yet another pompous minor god.

"True," Triton sighed, having finally reached the safety of Apollo's place, they shut the door tight behind them and closed their eyes in relief.

"Hey! Triton! Percy! Nice of you to visit!" Apollo came rushing into view just as the minor god and demigod pushed themselves off the door.

"You told us to come." Triton grumbled, pushing Percy towards the Olympian before leaning against a window pane to look outside.

"Can you head into the first room on the right, Percy? I want to have a talk with your grump brother here." Percy nodded and went down the hallway as Apollo turned to Triton.

"What's got you grumpy, cousin?" H asked, worriedly. Triton ran his hand through his hair tiredly and shook his head.

"Did you know that Percy was in Tartarus?" he asked, glancing at the model god. Apollo leaned against the window opposite his cousin and looked out.

"Yeah. I got the same feeling as when Hades brought Nico here after he accidently went." He replied, glancing behind him, as if worried Percy might be listening.

"What do I do?" People were laughing outside and little kids were screaming.

"I don't know. Only three demigods have ever fallen into Tartarus. Percy, Nico, and Anthony. Anthony seems to be handling it well, I assume his brain didn't let him see the worst of it. Nico and Percy though." He sighed and stopped talking Triton glanced up worriedly.

"What?"

"Demigod brains are equipped to handle all sorts of horrors and traumas, but Tartarus?" he sighed "We'd be lucky if we didn't lose them to insanity within the year."

"What?" Triton practically yelled, his heart was racing and his eyes were wild.

"The memories are enough, but the nightmares will continuously haunt them for the rest of their lives. Tartarus will prey on their weakest points and it won't be pretty. Some mornings they'll wake up and not be able to shake the feeling that everybody's a monster. Other mornings they'll be fine. That's why Hades has been up here so much. He's constantly in the library, searching for a cure. I've already told him what it is, and the cure isn't even truly a cure."

"What is it?" Triton asked, standing up and looking Apollo in the eye.

"Family, friends. They need people who they can trust. Tartarus will try to take that from them and he'll use it against them in their dreams."

"This is going to be hard, isn't it?" Triton whispered, looking at the door that Percy had entered.

"Harder than the wars they just faced. If we didn't have another war coming, I'd give them twenty percent chance of recovery, but right now? Not even five percent. Apollo sighed once again and walked towards the hospital room. Triton followed close behind, lost in thought about what he had just been told.

"Hey Percy!" Apollo yelled, making Percy jump as he walked in with Triton close behind. Both had odd looks in their eyes, making her worry about what they had just been talking about something important

"Hey, Lord Apollo." Her eyes downcast, she glanced up for a moment in greeting.

"Any dreams last night?" He asked, putting on a lab jacket that had been hanging on the door.

"Yeah, right before I woke up. It wasn't that bad, but-"

"Wasn't bad? You had me pinned to the floor with your sword at my throat!" Triton yelled. Apollo held up a hand and motioned for him to leave.

"If it were bad, that sword would be through his throat and he'd be spending a few hundred years reforming." She muttered, glancing quickly up at Apollo.

"Yeah, I know about your visit to Tartarus." He picked up a stack of charts and began reading them as he said this, flipping through and humming every so often.

"How?"

"I have my ways," He marks a few things on one of the clipboards before setting them down, his blue eyes flashing. "Anyways, I want you and Nico to visit sometime so I can talk to the both of you."

"Do you need anything today?" Percy growled, startling the sun god.

"Nope, I didn't think you'd want me telling your father that I needed you and Nico to come in for an evaluation after your trip to Tartarus," He paused and glanced up at her. "Unless, of course you're ready to tell the Olympian Council."

"No!" she shouted, before glancing at the door quickly and ducking her head.

"You may go." He gestured for her to go and she fled the room before turning around to look at him one last time. From the back, he looked like Luke.

"Thank you." She whispered, turning and walking towards her brother who stood fuming.


	4. Talking

Chapter Three

Triton led her out of the palace and onto a side street. It was made of cobblestone, long tread thin by the hooves of horses. At one time, this street had probably been a part of the original Olympus. The buildings here were older and looked more used, unlike the gleaming temples of the gods. Percy had a feeling this was where the satyrs and naiads lived. At the end of the street, there was a smaller path, made of sandstone that led into a beautiful garden. An arched light brown trellis loomed above them, growing a poisonous red flowered plant.  
"This is one of Demeter's many gardens. Nobody will be here this early in the morning." He paused as they walked further into the garden, the soft sandstone path turning to dark, healthy looking green grass.

"Okay." She raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue, but he continued on in silence. The short bushes that first lined the path turned into towering plants that flowered upon beautifully carved trellises.

"I want you to tell me of your time in Tartarus." The words were rushed, and a sharp intake of breath let him know that the subject was uncomfortable and Percy wished for it to be off-limits.

"No." she replied sternly, yes turning steely. Triton grumbled under his breath for a moment before turning to face her.

"Persephone, if I'm too be like a brother to you, I need to know this!" putting his emphasis on need. His eyes darkened, and the waves inside them thrashed around, as if telling her not to mess with him.

"You know, sometimes it's better to be ignorant." Percy muttered, walking ahead of her brother. Her eyes were dark and had the same, don't mess with me look as Triton's did.

"Yeah, well not me. I'm going to be the perfect older brother and I'm forcing you to tell me." He chased after her.

"Forcing me huh? And how will you do that? Torture me?" Percy replied, glaring at her brother as she stopped and faced away from him. They were now deep into the garden and had come out of the tunnel of trellises to a beautiful sea green lake that matched their eyes perfectly.

"Percy," his voice was gentler now, and he pulled his sister towards him, forcing her to face him. "Did they torture you?" she couldn't meet his eyes.

"I don't want to talk about it." She was breathing faster now and she was trying to back away from him.

"It's alright." He pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head. Percy began to cry, at first it was just tears, but then it began to come faster until she was gasping for breath.

"My little sister." He whispered, rubbing her back and staring out at the water. A soft breeze blew through the trees, creating waves upon the water.

Several minutes later, when Percy's crying had reduced to sniffles, she pulled away and looked down, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this." She seemed a little upset about not being blew to hold herself together.

"After everything you've been through, I think you deserve to be able to let your emotions flow." He said, squeezing her shoulder and giving her a smile. Percy smiled back and whipped her eyes quickly.

"Your mom's probably looking for you." She said, turning to head back up the trail. Triton followed.

"She'll be looking for you too, you know." He said, shaking his head at her obliviousness. Obviously his mom had acted differently than normal this morning. When Percy frowned at him, confused, he laughed.

"She's really sorry. I hope you can forgive her treatment of you like you could mine." He smiled softly. Percy walked on for a few moments before looking at him and giving him a small smile back.

"I think I'd like that." She whispered, looking up at the sky, as if remembering something. On the way back to the temples, Percy noticed more flowers than she had before. They were of all different colors, and the grass they walked on shown in different shades of green. Where they stepped, the grass would light up for a moment before fading.

"The grass reacts to our powers. Since our father commands water, the grass is rejuvenated by our presence." Triton answered the question she wanted to answer.

"Interesting," she paused, glancing up at the sun for a moment. "I have a question."

"Yeah?" Triton replied.

"Why is our father known as the moderator?"

"He controls the water, earth, and sky." Triton replied, demonstrating by causing a small earthquake, circling wind around them, and twirling water to make it look like a miniature tornado.

"Why isn't he king then?" Percy asked, and Triton glanced up at the sky quickly before turning to her.

"Zeus is king for a reason." He replied darkly, glaring at the garden entrance that loomed closer and closer by the second.

"Okay," she paused for a second before grinning at him "Want to race?" she didn't give him time to reply and took off. His laughter followed her and he soon caught up with her, matching her stride for stride. People moved quickly out of their way as theory raced through the streets, the sun at their backs as they chased each other, pushing one another to try and get a lead over the other. Percy was ahead before they reached the stairs, but her brother had climbed them more often and raced ahead of her. A growl of frustration followed him as she sped up, maxing out her speed as she chased him up the steps. Taking a deep breath, she launched herself at him, using the accuracy she had earned in battle. Her jump came in slow motion to her, and she stretched her arms out, reaching around his throat and wrapping them around his neck. An _oomph_ told her that she had knocked the breath out of him and she let go quickly as he slowed down.

"Not fair!" he wheezed, falling against the wall as they entered the huge palace. Leaning against the wall across from him, she heaved a sigh as she tried to catch her breath.

"A friend of mine taught me that all is in what you believe. I believe that was fair." After she said this, she stood up, ignoring his glare and wandered towards the doorway that seemed to lead towards the kitchen.

"That friend of yours was smart, who was it?" he asked, following her. His green eyes now shown with curiosity, but hers darkened slightly.

"He was lost when he chose his side of the war." She whispered. Triton left it at that, but he was still curious.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**I know Percy was out of character in these last two chapters, but I think that she deserves it after all she's been through. Also, you may think she's not mourning her mother and stepfather's death; she is. People mourn in different ways and I'll show that later on.**


	5. Statistics

**Hi! I have a question for everyone. Who do you want Percy to be paired with and why? The why is very important and this is not a poll that will tell me who I should pair with, it's just me asking for suggestions since I'm not exactly sure myself. Thank you!**

**Chapter four**

Percy wasn't sure how she was supposed to act when she saw her father. Was she supposed to bow like she did when she visited the council? Walking into the kitchen, she slowed down to provide time for her to figure it out. Sadly, both she and Triton had been so far into their thoughts that neither noticed the slow down and Triton ran into her. A spark of pain from an old injury flared up along her rib cage and she yelped.

"What was that for?" she hissed as he stepped back quickly in surprise.

"You're the one that slowed down!" he yelped, before composing himself and swooping past her to the sounds of faint talking and the sweet smells of extravagant breakfast foods.

"Smells good!" Triton called to his mom as he entered the kitchen with Percy close behind. Percy didn't know what to do, so she stood in the kitchen doorway silently, biting her lip.

Poseidon stood talking to Amphitrite as she cooked, they spoke in soft voices, not wanting Triton or her to hear them. Triton hadn't noticed she'd stopped and had started reading a newspaper that sat on the counter. He frowned at several things and swept it open with a loud _swoosh! _It was then that Poseidon and Amphitrite seemed to notice him. They immediately stopped talking and turned to look at him with faint surprise.

"Good morning. Triton." Poseidon said and Triton tapped the newspaper in reply.

"So, it says here that Zeus is going to be talking about the upcoming war at the council tonight." Triton had said it in a way so Persephone heard. She grew cold at the thought of yet another war and shivered silently.

"Yes. Zeus has already made up his mind." It was as if Poseidon were dismissing it as if it were nothing.

"What does he have planned? I know for a fact that the demigods are still recovering after the last war." Triton looked up, as if to stare knowingly at his sister to find her nowhere in sight. He looked back at the doorway quickly and saw her standing there uncomfortably, but with slight fear in her eyes.

"He plans on allowing the demigods to handle this threat." Poseidon answered, not knowing that his daughter was listening.

"Allowing? Is that what it's called when you block off all connections from Olympus? Is that what you call sitting by and watching your children die at the hands of an enemy who is way to strong for them to fight?" she cried, Triton glared at his father for wording his words so haphazardly.

"That's not what I meant. You guys handled the last war so well that-"she cut him off

"Ha! Handled it well? That's what you call having each camp almost decimated? That's what you call us struggling every night to stay alive as we're sleep deprived to death? If you call that well. You should know the real happenings of this war." Her eyes burned darkly and she spun around and ran. Nobody followed, Triton knew he should, but he also knew she needed time to cool off. Poseidon and Amphitrite where to stunned to do anything but stare at the doorway for several minutes.

"What does she mean by us not knowing the real happenings of war?" Poseidon hissed, wondering what he had missed while he was locked on Olympus.

"Three demigods went to Tartarus while we were locked up here. One shadow traveled and two fell. Can you guess who they were?" she spun around and left the room without another word, leaving an angry Triton, a surprised Poseidon, and a shocked Amphitrite.

Xxxxx

Once Percy left the palace, she wasn't sure where to go. Everywhere she went, people were sure to ask questions she did not want to answer. She had to find a place fast too, otherwise people would start to notice her. Her mind was filled with upset and angry thoughts and she had no idea where she had walked until she stepped into Apollo's palace.

"Percy! What's got you back here so quickly." He asked and she glared silently at him. He grimaced back and motioned for her to take a seat in one of the chairs in the room.

"Why didn't you tell me of the upcoming war?" he froze at her words, she had remained standing and was edging towards a corner where she couldn't be attacked from behind. The colors in her eyes where swirling and he knew that if he didn't get her calmed down, it could spell tragedy.

"I didn't tell you because you have your own things to worry about," He paused for a moment before hurrying on. "I was going to tell you and Nico this when you were both here, but I might as well tell you now. With this war, I'm giving you a five percent survival rate. Without this war, I'd give you twenty percent, maybe." He said it softly, as if it would comfort her, but it didn't.

"So, you're saying that I'm going to die no matter what." After being in two wars, the thought of dying didn't really bother her, but hearing the stats she had was shocking.

"Yes. Unless you focus on family and friendship. Tartarus is going to try to take that from you, so I need you to find true friends and family. I need you to fight for yourself for once." He stepped closer to her, trying to emphasis the fact that he was trying to help her. After a moment, she sighed and moved out of the corner she had backed herself into.

"I can't do that. My fatal flaw prevents me of thinking about myself, and personally, I don't want to be selfish and sit up here worried about myself as friends die. If the fates have it their way, I'll die. No matter what we do, they'll still cut my string when they want to." She spoke with clarity and he winced when she spoke of her death as if it where nothing.

"Okay then. You can fight this war, but if for whatever reason I ask you to pull out of a battle, I need you to trust me. I'm fighting for that five percent." He glared at her, and she smirked at him.

"I was never one to follow rules. We'll see if I follow that." With that, she opened the door to the palace and left. She knew where she was going and it wasn't anywhere someone would think of her to go.

**I will NOT pair Percy with Triton. I plan on having him as a brotherly figure in her life and I think it would be weird if I paired her with her brother. I know there are stories out there that are good with them as a couple, but I will not pair Percy with him. Also, asking me to update soon will not get me to update faster. As I said before, I update as often as possible and since school is almost to an end, I have a lot of work and studying to do. A good way to get a writer to write another chapter is to tell them what you think should happen next and why. It tells us that our readers are thinking and sometimes even helps us with areas that need something more, but we're not sure what to add. Suggestions are welcome! I'd LOVE to hear what you want to happen next as long as you put why. I may not take your suggestions, but they will certainly get me thinking, and MAYBE get me to write chapters quicker. **


	6. Asking for help

**Chapter five**

The underworld isn't a place you want to visit if you've had a recent trip to Tartarus. The climate is a little friendlier, but it's the fact of how close you are to the pit that gets to you. Percy shuddered as she walked through the fields of punishment in full armor, not wanting anyone to recognize her. She had a destination in mind, and she'd be thought of as a traitor if anyone ever knew she was there. It was a cave on the edge of the fields that led to a small, but deep pond. In this pond where several different types of poisons. Some burned away your skin while others prevented you from breathing. It was a horrible place and one of the worst punishments. The person there had created it himself, for himself.

Glaring down into the deep, murky toxins, she saw the figure she wanted and twisted her hand sharply. As if by force, the toxic substances rose up, bringing the figure with them. A familiar tug at her gut made her grin softly as she swept her hand sideways to let the figure fall beside her and the poison go back to its origins.

She turned to the figure with a light burning in her eyes that could make her enemies scared. Taking off her helmet, she shook out her braid and smirked at him as he shook his murky blonde hair to glare at her. It wasn't long before that glare turned from recognition to surprise and he went into a defensive position.

"What would you say if I asked you to train me?" She asked, his blue eyes darkened momentarily and he tilted his head.

"No." his answer was straight forward and he began walking away, his form flickering slightly as he walked through the fields and towards a much nicer area of the underworld.

"You're down here twelve hours a day torturing yourself and another twelve feeling sorry for yourself. You're dead and yet you won't help a friend stay alive." She rushed to walk behind him, glaring at the back of his head.

"I'm not your friend." He growled, entering Elysium through tall, beautiful gates and heading towards a house that stood on the outskirts of the city.

"When did you declare that?" she growled, grabbing his arm and spinning him around.

"I betrayed you and everyone else at camp! I think that's enough. Now leave" He growled back, turning and striding away, leaving her standing there.

"Luke!" he paused momentarily at the sound of her voice, it was pleading. "I need your help."

"Why me?" he asked, turning to look at her with a guarded expression.

"Because you're the only one I know who can beat me in battle," she paused and let her guard down. "Please." They stood staring at each other. Luke with a guarded expression and her with a pleading one.

"Fine!" he threw his arms up in the air and she smiled softly. He turned and beckoned for her to follow him. They strode through tall, green grass that came up to her waist. He led her on the outskirts of the city to a large, open area that seemed to be a training field.

"I don't think I should be the only one training you. If the gods find out, they'd kill you immediately for treason." They were walking towards a group of men who stood talking to each other in a circle.

"Okay. So who do you have planned?" she asked, studying the group they were heading for. Obviously they were warriors, but who were they.

"Well, obviously regular warriors wouldn't cut it. We need people who know what they're doing." He replied, eyeing the group ahead.

"Yes." She drew the word out, letting him know she wasn't following. He sighed and shook his head.

"We need the famous heroes. That way if the gods come asking, we can tell them that you asked them for help and they agreed. The gods will be okay with them training you, and if we say that I train with them also, then I think it'll be okay." He spoke softly as they passed other warriors who fought or talked.

"So we're going to training together?" she asked, smirking up at him and he looked back at her.

"Yep. The problem is, I have a whole year of training ahead of you." He smirked when her expression fell.

"Great. It'll be like first day of camp all over again."

"Yes it will. Ready to travel down memory lane?" he asked and she smiled before frowning slightly.

"As long as it's not recent memories." She said vaguely and he eyed her suspiciously but the dark look on his face told him the subject was closed.

They had neared the group by then and she dropped back a few feet. Luke looked back at her once to make sure she was still following, but didn't comment on her nervousness. The group of warriors turned towards them and smiled at Luke.

"Hey! We were wondering if you were coming today." They greeted him like old buddies and Percy smiled softly at Luke being treated that way.

"Sorry. I got caught up talking to an old friend." Luke turned to look at Percy and she stepped forward to stand right behind his shoulder.

"I didn't think you had any friends." One of them commented and Luke smirked. Percy bit her lip and looked at the ground.

"I didn't either until this one came and told me she needed my help." The guys looked at each other for a moment before turning to her. Percy looked back at them with a cool and vacant expression.

"How'd you die?" one of them asks. He had lighter hair then the others, and odd, hazel eyes.

"I could use the 'died in a bathtub' excuse again, but I don't think that'll work." She replied, and Luke looked at her in confusion.

"Wait, when you came here for your first quest, you told Charon you died in a bathtub? Did Hermes cabin teach you anything?" He asked, looking at her in horror.  
"Of course it did! I was able to apprehend these items," she took out two wallets, a dragon bone knife, a piece of paper with directions to some bar, and a bottle of painkillers.

"I stole the wallets from Apollo and Triton. The knife is also Triton's while the piece of paper and painkillers are Apollo's." Luke quickly took the bottle of painkillers from her and held it out of her reach.

"Painkillers?" he asked and she smirked.

"When he has a patient with a five percent survival rate, he should probably keep a closer eye on her. While he was talking to my brother, I took the wallet from his dresser in his temple while he was talking to Triton and then snuck in two his medicine cabinet, which is more like a museum, and took them. Really, he should keep that place locked up." She shook her head as if remembering something before snapping back to reality to see Luke staring at her with a confused expression.

"What?" she asked defensively. He just shook his head and they turned back to the heroes who had stood watching them with interest.

"So, whose child are you?" the same one who had asked how she died asked.

"That's obvious dummy. Look at her eyes," Another asked, and Percy recognized him as Achilles. He stepped forward for a moment to look at her before recognition crossed his face. "You're the one who took a dip in the Styx, aren't you?" he asked and she nodded slowly.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only demigod daughter of Poseidon." She replied, glancing at the others faces to recognize Perseus and Theseus from their eyes.

"You are, father has only ever had male demigods. I bet he's really protective of you." The one she had recognized as Theseus stepped closer to study her and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Nope, not really. I don't think he even cares at times." Her voice held a bitterness to it that made Luke wince. He remembered that bitterness well, as he had heard it in his own voice.

"He cares. He's probably just worried about getting to close to you. We all die young and he's probably worried that Zeus will notice your power." Theseus replied, making her look at him in confusion.

"My power?" she asked and he chuckled.

"Your aura is strong, which means your power is strong. Poseidon's children are naturally stronger than the others, but some of us have unnatural tendencies," he paused ad looked at Achilles for a moment. "Tell me, who trained you in your powers?" Percy frowned.

"Nobody. I learn off of instinct. I'm sure you've heard that Zeus has banned the gods from visiting their children." She replied and Theseus nodded.

"Yeah, I have. That's what I meant. Your aura is really strong for you to be acting off of instinct," Turning to the others he said "Imagine what she could do with some real training." They were all nodding in agreement and watching her with silent, studying eyes and Percy felt really uncomfortable.

"So, you must be really desperate to ask ol' Luke here for help." Perseus asked, trying to keep the tone light. Luke growled at him, probably for being called old and the others chuckled.

"We're entering our third war and our numbers are depleted. I need training so I can stop the army before they even think about attacking Olympus." She replied, looking at them with a defiant expression, as if asking for a challenge.

"And how do you plan on doing that." That made her falter and she waited for someone else to answer.

"No plan, Poseidon's children never have one." The guy who had first spoken to her said and she growled lightly at him.

"Easy Odysseus, you have two in front of you." Achilles warned, and Theseus smirked.

"Anyways. Will you train her or not." Luke suddenly asked and the others suddenly looked confused.

"I can't train her myself. The gods will punish her for treason." He said hurriedly and they nodded slowly in understanding.

"Can she handle it?" Achilles asked, staring him in the eye. It would've made Percy uncomfortable, but Luke took it in stride.

"Yes." Luke replied, and the warriors in front of them smirked before turning towards her.

"Welcome to hell's training, little sister." Theseus smirked.


	7. Still Friends

**Chapter 6**

It was an hour later when Percy and Luke walked off the training field. Achiles and the others hadn't done any training with her today. Instead, they had her watch Luke's training and then discussed times with her. She was supposed to come whenever she was able to get off Olympus. Luke had been unusually quiet and she wanted to question him about it, but after not talking for several years, except when he was on his deathbed, it was weird.

Right before she was to exit Elysium, Luke put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her towards him. Holding her at arm's length, he looked into her eyes for a moment before sighing.

"You are never as broken as you think you are. Sure you have a few scars and more than a couple bad memories, but all the great heroes do. Keep your head high, Seph." It was the nickname he had given her when she'd walked through the Hermes cabin door and been announced as Persephone Jackson. Only he called her it, and it made her smile softly.

"I'm trying-"she couldn't continue because Luke shook her.

"No! Your story is one so brave and true that you must succeed," he paused and let go of her.

"What?" she asked and he shook his head and turned to walk back to his home in Elysium.

"Luke!" she called and he paused, not facing her.

"Are we still friends?" she asked, and she saw him stiffen. It was probably an uncomfortable topic for both of them.

"That depends." He replied

"On what?" she called back, and he turned to face her with glinting blue eyes that reflected the 'setting sun' of the underworld.

"If you want to be." With that, he jogged away, growing smaller and smaller in the distance. She smiled and continued on her way, along the skirts of the fields of punishment and towards an all too familiar river that held her ride home.

Xxxxx

It was late when Percy got back from the underworld. The sun had already sunk below the horizon and the moon was high in the sky. She took her helmet off once she was in the elevator. The armor she had on had used to way a ton to her, but now, it was like clothing. Without her armor seemed more awkward then with.

The doors dinged open softly and only certain places on Olympus where still lit up. Mainly, the throne room.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath, striding towards it. Only one of its doors was partway open, and she made her way towards it with a vehemently blank expression. As she neared, she could hear some of the conversation and walked slower to hear it.

"She's my daughter!" Poseidon's voice sounded angry, and Percy shuddered at the thought of him being angry at her.

"Yes, but she's also Olympus's only hope." It was Hera's voice this time, and Percy rolled her eyes at the goddess.

"Yes," surprisingly, this was Dionysus and she froze right outside the door. "She's also a sixteen year old girl whose friends have abandoned her and whose family is now dead."

"I'm her family! I'm not dead!" Poseidon cried out, slamming his trident into the ground.

"Really? You're like a dead beat father. She met you when she was twelve and has only seen you a few times." It was Artemis who said this and Percy found herself nodding softly in agreement. It was silent for a few moments before someone finally spoke.

"Look, I wasn't going to tell you this, but I think it's critical that you know." This sent cold shivers down her body. Apollo had stood up and walked to the middle of the room to have the attention of everyone.

"As Percy mentioned to Poseidon, three demigods have been to Tartarus. One of them is Athena's son, Anthony," he paused and let it sink in for a moment. "Anthony's brain will not let him comprehend what was down there so he hasn't been affected."

"What about the other two?" It was Hermes, curious as always.

"They were Nico, Hades son and Persephone, daughter of Poseidon." Dead silence filled the room and then came the outcries.

"My daughter?" was the loudest and Percy quietly stepped into the room to see their reactions.

"Persephone Jackson must be found!" Zeus's voice was loudest and she grimaced slightly, wondering why he wanted her found.

"Well, it's a good thing you think so father, because she's already been found." Dionysus stared down at her with a vacant, bored expression. Everyone looked at her with mixed expressions and she felt small under them.

"Technically, I wasn't found. I came here myself." She replied, rolling her eyes and setting her helmet at her feet.

"Where'd you go? We looked for you everywhere!" Poseidon yelled, making Percy grimace at him.

"Obviously not everywhere, and for my whereabouts, I'll keep that to myself," Zeus was about to interrupt her but she held up a hand to stop him.

"I'm not going to betray you and I can swear my loyalty to you if you need me too. Even if I don't like you as rulers, you're better than other rulers we could have." This made them frown, but they didn't say anything as Zeus studied his niece with a guarded expression.

"If the time comes for truths to be told, will you tell where you've been?" He asked and she rolled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Yes. I'm sure you'll figure it out in a matter of weeks though." She replied and it made some of them shake their head at her in confusion.

"Why?" Apollo asked, almost afraid of what she'd answer. Her mental state really wasn't all that great at the time.

"Because I'll be continuing to go there. If you absolutely need me. Ask Nico where I am." She replied.

"Moving on. How was Tartarus?" Ares asked and Percy winced, and shut down all emotion on her face as she looked at him with lethal eyes.

"Great. As if being almost being killed isn't enough, it seems the nightmares still continue," she paused and let her face go dark as she smiled up at him eerily. "It's a wonderful vacation spot if you prefer the things like torture, death, stalkers, and things that some minds cannot comprehend."

"I think that is highly off subject. We have few questions about the killer of you mother." Dionysus answered him and Percy's face hardened again.

"His voice was unlike what I've heard before. It was full of death and fear. When he laughed it was like thousands of people being tortured." She replied, watching the faces of the gods for any sort of reaction. Most of them stayed calm except a widening of eyes.

"Thank you, Persephone. That helps us a lot." Zeus answered sincerely and she bowed her head. For a few minutes, nothing was said and only the quiet sounds of the city could be heard.

"I call this meeting adjourned until tomorrow. Do not be late." Zeus looked at Percy when he said this, and was surprised when he saw her still looking down.

"Poseidon, take your daughter to your palace." He flashed away in a streak of lightning, followed closely by the other gods. Poseidon rubbed his face, seemingly tiredly and got off his throne. Shrinking down to human size, he gestured for Percy to follow him and made his way out the throne room and down the temple steps.

"I'm sorry for-"he held up a hand for her to stop and leaned tiredly against one of the palace stair railings.

"I don't want to hear it. Where'd you go after going to Apollo's temple today?" he asked, watching her with slightly cold eyes.

"It's none of your business. I'm sixteen-"

"Yes! You're sixteen. You're mother and step-father where just murdered and you've been to Tartarus," he paused and took a deep breath before continuing in a quieter voice. "Percy, I just want to help. I know I haven't been a part of your life, but I want to." Sea green eyes met sea green eyes and she rushed forward to hug him.

"I don't know what to do." She cried into his shoulder and he hugged her tight. The moon shone brightly above them and the sounds of distant party let them know they were not truly alone.

"I know. It hurts and some days you'll feel like it would be better if you weren't here, but you need to stay strong because it's always bleakest in the storm right before the rainbow." She looked up at him with a confused, tilted head and then smiled softly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"How do you know?" she asked, glancing up at him with a curious gaze.

"I've lost many that I love. Being a god means that you lose both your children and lovers." He glanced down at her and smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry." She felt foolish. Her father would never be able to see them again, but she would. Thinking this, she felt stronger and knew she could continue.

"Don't be. I'm just glad I have this time to spend with you." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they continued down the street towards his temple in the dark. She felt happier then she had since Tartarus. Everything was falling into place, for good and for bad.


	8. Breakfast

Chapter 7

"Wake up!" she was woken suddenly from a peaceful sleep by Triton jumping on her bed and staring down a her as she groaned and tried covering her face to block out the sunshine.

"Get out!" she growled at him and he sat down and held still for a few minutes. For a moment, Percy thought he was going to leave, but he didn't.

"I could, but then you'd miss breakfast." He shifted so he was leaning against the wall next to her head and she growled again, only to hear him laugh.

"Are you going to be an annoying, big brother?" she asked, peeking out from under the pillow to look up at him.

"Through and through." He said, smiling down at her before ripping the pillow out of her hands.

"Hey!" she yelled as he threw it out of her reach. For a moment they stayed in silence. Her trying to get a few more moments of sleep and him trying to shake her awake.

"Triton! Get out of your sister's room!" Amphitrite's voice yelled and Percy looked at him with a smirk on her face.

"Persephone! Get out of bed!" this time it was Poseidon and she groaned loudly before swinging her feet onto the floor as her brother stood up.

"I hate you!" she growled at him, good naturedly as he left, swinging the door closed behind him.

"I know! I hate you too." She heard him call as he walked away from her door. She turned to get a good look around the room and for the first time noticed the picture on the wall. It wouldn't have caught anybody else's attention, except for the fact that it was a painted picture of a large, black Pegasus and a petite, raven haired girl. The girl and Pegasus stood on a rocky ledge with the moon behind them. She held her sword high and the Pegasus was reaching up with his front legs, it seemed to be taking no effort for the stallion to stand on his back legs and his wings where arched out to encase the moon.

"That picture is older than time itself. It was the first thing ever prophesized by Apollo." The voice behind her was soft and gentle and Percy turned to see Amphitrite standing in the doorway with a pair of clothes.

"Did it ever come true?" she asked and Amphitrite shook her head sadly.

"No. It is known as Apollo's one great lie. He hates himself dearly for painting it." She replied, coming in and setting the clothes on the dresser.

"Thank you. Not just for the clothes, but for allowing me to stay here." Percy bowed deeply.

"No need to thank me. We are family and that is all that is needed." She smiled at Percy while Percy looked down uncomfortably.

"Would you like to go shopping today for clothes?" Amphitrite asked and Percy smiled before frowning.

"I would love to, but I've got some stuff to do. Could we do it tomorrow?" she asked hopefully and Amphitrite smiled happily.

"Of course," she paused "I'm sorry about Triton waking you up. He was rather excited about breakfast and I told him to wait for you to wake up." Percy smiled at that and shook her head.

"No need. I haven't been sleeping well and I'm guessing that if he hadn't woken me up, I would've had a dream that I'd rather not have." Amphitrite frowned at the girl's words. She was the type that was too open, and then once they noticed it, they shut down quickly.

"Now that you're up, why don't you get dressed and come down to eat?" Amphitrite asked gently. Percy seemed to relax at this statement and nodded her head slowly.

"Okay. I'll be down shortly." She replied. Amphitrite stood for a moment longer before walking out and shutting the door behind her. Deep in thought, she walked down the hall and into the kitchen where Triton and Poseidon already sat at the table.

"Did she agree to go?" Triton asked eagerly, only to have his expression fall when his mother shook her head.

"No, but I believe we are going tomorrow. She seems to have slept well last night, but she's nervous about having dreams." Amphitrite shook her head sadly as she sat next to her husband and Poseidon and Triton adorned saddened expressions.

"Benny is eager to meet her, but I'm not sure about Rhode." Triton said, trying to break the silence.

"Yes. We should take Percy to Atlantis as soon as we can." Poseidon gets a thoughtful look in his eye while Triton nods in agreement.

"Good morning." A voice says from the doorway and Percy walks in. Her hair is pulled up in a tight ponytail and she has light armor on. They frown at her, but she sits down and raises an eyebrow at them.

"Can't fight a war for you guys if I'm not training." She says, taking a bite of apple. Guilt flashes across their faces and they keep quiet as they watch her for a few moments before beginning to eat.

"Who're you training with today?" Triton asks, noticing that it's becoming uncomfortable for everybody. Percy gulps down a bite of apple.

"Most likely Nico. I'm heading to the underworld anyways." She mumbles the last part and Poseidon frowns.

"You shouldn't be down there." He can't finish because Percy stops him.

"I've been to worse places. Anyways, Nico and I train in Elysium so it's not like we see anything." She stands up and throws the apple core in a garbage can.

"As long as it's okay with Hades." Poseidon replies after a second of hesitation. Percy nods and heads out into the hallway and towards the door.

"I don't know if it's just me or she's avoiding us." Poseidon frowns and watches the doorway that she disappeared out of while Triton shakes his head quickly.

"Give her a few days. After what she's been through, she deserves at least that." Triton replies.


	9. telling a friend

Chapter 8

Percy wandered through the fields of Elysium, slowly making her way towards the house at the edge of the city. As she drew closer, its design became more visible to her and she realized it was ranch style with light grey bricks mixed in with darker ones. The front door was made of dark, red and gold wood with glass shards inlaid into it to glint with sunlight. She knocked on the door. It let a large, booming sound that reminded her of cell doors opening in Tartarus, she shuddered.

"Yeah?" Luke's voice came as he opened the door. He had a toothbrush in his mouth so it came out funny. The minute he saw her, he frowned and beckoned her inside before shutting the door. He walked down a hallway that was about five feet from the door and she followed. It led her into a small area that held two bedrooms and a bathroom. Luke was rinsing his toothbrush and he wiped his mouth before turning to her with an elevated eyebrow.

"I know I'm early, but I didn't know where to go." She mumbled and he nodded his head slowly before beckoning her back down the hallway and into a small kitchen with huge windows overlooking a hill and the training arena.

"What's up?" he asks, pulling out a chair and straddling it to face her. She pulled a chair over to face him and sighed.

"I'm assuming you haven't heard much about the second war?" she questioned and he shook his head silently, his eyes glinting slightly dangerously.

"Okay," she sighed deeply his time. "This may take a while." She glanced at him and he motioned for her to continue.

"I'm going to skip to the important part. As you know, Anthony and I where dating at the time-"he interrupted her.

"Wait. You aren't dating now?" he asked and she raised her eyebrow at him.

"No, He cheated on me." She muttered, leaning back against the chair. Now, Luke's eyes where very dark.

"Well, I didn't think he was that low. Not after Thalia and I saved him." He sighed and again motioned for her to continue.

"Okay. So, we were in Arachne's cave. Most of the people we were on a quest with were busy and Anthony didn't notice Arachne's silk wrapped around his ankle. Before we knew it, Arachne was pulling him down, into Tartarus. I grabbed him and we both went over the edge. I tried holding onto a ledge, but it was either let go of him and pull myself up or go with him. As you know, I couldn't let go of him so I chose to let go of the ledge." Luke mutters something under his breath and Percy ignores it.

"I don't know how long we fell for. It felt like forever, but once we landed, that seemed like heaven. I know Anthony can't remember any of the horrors, but it sticks with me. I remember the burning black sand, the crags that spit flames and monsters everywhere. It was so hot that even the air burned our skin," she shuddered and her voice shook, but she tried to continue. "I remember that Anthony was supposed to be keeping watch while I slept one time and I woke up to screaming. It was the sounds of torture and I was in a cell. Blood was thick around the left side of my skull and I couldn't see out of that eye. Raucous laughing is what I remember next. It terrified me and I couldn't figure out why. It didn't scare me as bad as the man did though. His eyes, they were so dark and intent and-"she paused and took a shaky breath. "He came into my cell one day. I had seen him go into others and I heard the horrors that went on in there. –"Now her voice was so shaky, you could hardly understand it and her eyes where a pale, scared color. Luke had never seen her like this.

"Hey. It's alright. I get it." He stood up and walked carefully over to her. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he embraced her gently and protectively.

"He won't hurt you again, okay?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. She shook her head.

"You can't promise that!" she was hyperventilating now and he shook her gently to catch her attention.

"No, I can't. What I can promise you is that if you ever have to see him again; I'll be with you." His eyes were sincere and she nodded and slowed her breathing down. Luke stood up and watched her for a few minutes, mainly how her eyes went from their pale green to a slightly darker sky blue. Weariness echoed their thoughts throughout her face and Luke realized that these horrors followed her everywhere.

"Come on," he said, tugging her up and over to the couch. "You can sleep a little before training." Quickly as ever, Percy stopped dead in her tracks and shook her head quickly and nervously.

"No!" she replied and Luke pulled her down onto the couch, wrapping his arm around her.

"Yes. I'm right here and I told you you'd never have to face that man alone." She relaxed a little when he said this and leaned into him for support. Already her eyes where drooping, but she had one more question.

"Luke?" she asked, her voice whispery.

"Yeah?" he asked, rubbing her shoulder lightly.

"Are we friends?" he chuckled quietly before answering the tired girl.

"Yeah, we're friends." He answered and she drifted off to sleep, only hearing Luke mumble something else afterword's.

Xxxx

"What's with sleeping beauty?" A quiet voice asked Luke, who stood in the kitchen looking out at the training grounds.

"Can't tell you. She's tired though and most likely hasn't been sleeping well." He replied, looking at the dark haired man beside him.

"She's going to need to start sleeping if she's going to be training with us." There was a hint of worry in his voice and Luke nodded in agreement.

'I better wake her up." Luke started for the couch but a strong hand stopped him. He turned to see Achilles deep eyes staring into his blue ones.

"Lady Styx is worried about her. I don't know much, but I do know that she's going to be under a lot of pressure if this war blows up into something big." Achilles eyes held the wisdom he'd gained over the years and Luke nodded slightly.

He knelt next to Percy and gently shook her shoulder, her eyes opened slowly and he smiled softly at her.

"Hey," he said quietly "Time to wake up." She watched him for a moment before sitting up.

"Good morning!" Achilles said, walking into the room with a glass of water and a granola bar. He handed them to her and she took them reluctantly, eyeing the water warily.

"It has protein and a little sugar in it. It should taste like lemon water." Achilles replied, seeing her caution. He sat down in a chair across from her and watched her with an interested expression. Luke sat down where he knelt, next to Percy's knees.

"How do I know you're not lying?" she growled lightly, not quite angry.

"Just drink it." Achilles replied with an exasperated sigh, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. She lifted the cup to her lips and downed it quickly, scrunching her nose at the taste. Achilles laughed.

"I never told you it tasted good." He said, standing up and pacing from window to window, looking for something.

"Let's start heading down to the training field. The others should've been here by now and we're losing time." Without anything else, he walked out of the house, leaving the door open for them to follow.

"What should I expect in training?" Percy asked as Luke pulled on tan combat boots. He looked up at her quickly as he tied them.

"The usual camp stuff; running, pushups, pull ups, fighting." He paused and stood up, jumping a few times to test the shoes out. "It's harder though. If you thought Chiron pushed us, wait until you get to training today." He jumped down the porch steps and she followed closely, her tennis shoes bending with her feet perfectly. Luke paused, watching the shape of Achilles quickly getting smaller as he headed down the hill towards the arena.

"Your brother is going to push you when it comes time to test your powers. I know you've learned everything from trial and error. They don't." he warned, his eyes flashing as they looked into hers.

"So, don't do anything that could get me killed. Right." She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes.

"I'll race you." His eyes had that traitorous gleam in them that made her shiver, but she grinned back anyways and took off down the hill, through the knee high green grass and purple flowers.

**I know the story has been really slow, but I promise I'll try to speed things up a little and add some action.**


	10. Run

Chapter 9

"Jump! Sidestep! Use your feet, you have them for a reason!" Achilles voice had been pounded into her head long ago. It had been hours since Luke and she had started to battle, and if it hadn't been for the dew on the grass, she would have lost long ago. Luke had long since developed a dangerous look in his eye and had started creating moves she'd never seen before. Seat dripped down her back, pooling and streaming down her back. A headache had begun to form in the base of her forehead, behind her eyes. Red dots where forming at the edges of her vision and tunnels had started to form. The comments hadn't stopped and suddenly she got a chill down her spine as Luke swung at her neck with all his might. He probably hadn't meant it to be a death shot, and he'd already done it a few times before; but she was tired and her arm wasn't reacting as fast as it had been before.

"No!" she distantly heard someone scream this, but she was focused on Luke's eyes. They'd shifted to fear so fast, it surprised her.

The blade would've killed her in a matter of seconds if Luke hadn't changed its direction fast enough. The only thing he could do was turn the blade slightly so that when it hit her neck, it was the flat of the blade and not the edge. Shadows engulfed her immediately.

Xxxxx

"What the hell, Luke! Why'd you aim for her neck?" Achilles was screaming at him with anger in his eyes and all Luke could do was stare at Percy, lying so lifeless on the ground. Her skin was a ghostly pale and Theseus was shaking her, trying to wake her up.

"I did it several times before! I didn't think she'd react that slowly!" he whispered, falling to his knees and leaning back on his heels. His sword was long forgotten next to Percy's blade. Both glinted evilly in the evening light.

"Guys, calm down. She would've died instantly if she were going to. She's just knocked out." Odysseus said, checking her pulse before standing back up, pulling Theseus with him.

"Now that she's not in any danger, what are we going to do?" Achilles asked, noticing the tension in Theseus's gaze.

"We could go to my place." Odysseus offered, and everyone shook their heads quickly.

"No offense, but your place is way too crowded with books and other," Theseus grimaced "'smart' stuff."

"Then it's Luke's place." Achilles said, rubbing his face tiredly.

"I'll carry her." Luke's voice broke through their silence, but Theseus grabbed his arm roughly and shook his head.

"You've done enough." He growled, walking over to his sister and picking her up, bridal style, gently. They walked in silence from the arena, up the hill, and into Luke's house.

"Luke, stay outside a moment." Achilles said before closing the door behind him and the others. Luke cursed lightly before taking a seat on the steps and rubbing his forehead. Achilles watched him through the window for a moment before turning towards Theseus.

"That was one of the longest fights I've ever seen." Odysseus proclaimed loudly. Theseus glared at him as he sat down on the ground near Percy's head.

"She was using energy from the dew on the grass to continue going, but even with that, she shouldn't have been able to hold up against Luke for that long." Theseus muttered, his green eyes dark with worry as he looked at his sister's face.

"Luke said she was an extremely good swordsman, I thought he was joking, but-"Achilles shook his head and grinned.

"I think we're going to have fun training these two." Odysseus's hands shook with excitement. The three sat in silence for a few moments before a slight groan shook them out of their stupor.

"Hey." Theseus said, turning to look at his sister as her eyes blinked open. The coloring was extremely pale, showing her exhaustion

"Hi." She mumbled, closing her eyes and breathing in slowly. Achilles walked to the door to get Luke.

"Anything hurt?" Odysseus asked, kneeling next to Theseus. Luke walked in, but stayed towards the corner of the room as he watched the others interact with Persephone.

"My head, but I doubt you needed to know that. It's obviously going to hurt." She muttered, opening her eyes again to reveal a darker and healthier looking teal.

"Yeah. You've probably got a concussion." Achilles replied, sitting in a chair behind the others. His green eyes where dark with thought.

"Feels like it." She muttered before looking at Luke "Nice aim." She couldn't talk above a whisper, but he heard her and frowned.

"I could've killed you!" he growled and the others froze. Theseus's eyes got dark while Odyseus got a calculating look on his face.

"Yeah, Yeah. You could've killed me, if the fates decreed it." She rolled her eyes at him and tried to sit up. A hiss of air rushed through her teeth and she sunk back down slowly. Luke shook his head and gritted his teeth before raising his hands above his head.

"I can't do this." He growled, running out the door with Percy's gaze following him. She frowned and gritted her teeth as she tried sitting up again.

"I hate when he gets like this." She muttered, closing her eyes for a moment as she focused on ignoring the pain in her head.

"Yeah?" Achilles asked, watching Luke's retreating form out the window. "When'd he do this last?"

"When I asked him for help." She growled, standing up and swaying slightly as she made her way towards the door. Muttering something in Latin, she closed her eyes for a moment as she stood in the doorway. A scream outside told her that her call had been answered and she grinned.

A giant hellhound came into view with a blonde haired eighteen year old in its mouth. Achilles stood behind her in confusion while the others tried to see what they were looking at.

"I knew having a hellhound would come in handy." Percy said, mostly to herself as she skipped down the steps and up to the gigantic dog.

"Good girl!" she cried, patting the dogs head as she dropped the boy. The dog wagged her tail and licked her leader's face. Luke stood up and quickly backed away from the hellhound.

"I wouldn't run, she chases things that move." Percy said anonymously, walking towards her friend/enemy.

"Really?" she growled, tilting her head to glare at him. He glared back, but kept a watchful eye on the hellhound that sat behind Percy.

"Really what? I'm a traitor! If you're found to be training with me, you'll be the one punished." He growled, his eyes flashing brilliant colors of blue. Percy's aura swam around her, growing bigger by the second.

"Do you think I haven't thought of that?" she screamed at him and he was taken aback "I came to you for training. To you!" tears covered her vision "I came to you, because I knew you could train me well enough to save lives. I can't bear to see more friends die!" it was half growled, half screamed and Luke's face had fallen from anger to sadness.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I lost my best friend in the first war. I fell into Tartarus in the second war and after that," she paused as a sob wracked her body "My boyfriend cheated on me." Luke stepped forward and hugged her. Achilles pulled the others into the house and Mrs. O'Leary laid down and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Luke whispered, rubbing her shoulders as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"You where my best friend. You were the only one who understood!" she cried, looking up at him. "You left and I had no idea what to do!" Luke gained a helpless look in his eyes as she hugged him again, the sobs Turing to gentle crying. Luke felt horrible, he'd known what leaving had done to him, but not to others.


	11. Laughter

It had been a month since that day. Percy had been training at least four times a week with the heroes of old. Luke had apologized several times and although she found him a few more times at the bottom of the lake, it hadn't been many. Luke helped Percy stay strong, and in turn, Percy helped him get over the fact that he was a traitor. They now spent hours on end just talking and could share anything with each other. Percy had learned that Triton meant it when he said he was going to be the annoying big brother, but Percy felt it was needed. Sometimes they joked with each other so relentlessly that Amphitrite and Poseidon couldn't tell if they were joking or fighting.

Poseidon had decided that they were moving down to Atlantis a month ago and it was happening today. Today. Percy thought about it for a moment and shook her head slowly and unbelievably. One month had brought so much stuff and she couldn't decide whether that was good or bad. In two weeks, Nico and she would be heading to the battlefield to start war with who knows what they were fighting.

"Percy!" A voice screamed and she came back to reality to find Thalia jumping up and down excitedly in front of her.

"What?" she asked, grabbing her cousin's arms to keep her from jumping up and down in excitement.

"I can't tell you." Thalia whispered, racing away from her, laughing as Percy ran after her. Thalia had come to Olympus two weeks earlier with Artemis and it had been a blessing. Percy followed her cousin as she raced towards Zeus's temple. They'd run this path several times before, this time though, instead of stopping, Thalia raced in through the open council room door. Percy followed close behind, only to run flat into the spiky haired demigod.

"What?" Percy asked, gasping for breath, only for it to catch when she realized what had happened. They'd walked right in on a council meeting, and as of the looks of it. A very important one, by the looks of it.

"Oops." Thalia whispered, grabbing Percy's arm as she backed up. Together they backed out of the throne room with half a dozen surprised looks following them. As soon as they were out of sight, green eyes met electric blue and the two collapsed into fits of giggles. Every time they'd stop, they'd look at each other and collapse at the thought of the looks on their fathers' faces.

"Girls." A voice stated, and they looked up at the face of Triton staring down at them. He had a lopsided grin on his face and looked at the doors.

"Let me guess." He put a thoughtful hand on his chin "You walked in on a council meeting."

"Yeah. You should've seen their looks!" Thalia replied, standing up and trying to help Percy up but collapsed, partially on top of her cousin.

"I remember when I did that." Triton grinned and sat down next to them. He proceeded to tell them of the time he was running away from his mother when he raced right in on a war meeting when the gods where arguing. By the time he was done, he could barely talk and Percy and Thalia where in fits again.

"Stop!" Thalia cried, holding her side with pain etched on her face, but giggles escaping her mouth.

"Okay, Okay." Triton tried catching his breath, but couldn't. They vaguely heard a door open as each of them tried to control themselves.

"What's going on here?" a deep voice asked and all of them shot up into sitting position. Zeus and Poseidon stood in the doorway, watching all three of them.

"Nothing." The girls cried out, standing up and wiping the dirt on their clothes off.

"Uh huh." Poseidon was eyeing Percy while Triton wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her.

"Thalia!" Percy suddenly cried out, turning to her cousin and surprising Triton, who jumped back.

"What?" Thalia asked, just as excited, already knowing what Percy was going to ask.

"Tell me." The girl growled and her cousin laughed before racing away, down the steps.

"No!" she called and Percy raced after her with a happy, but determined expression on her face. The gods watched them race away and smiled.

"Why must they have so much energy?" Zeus asked, pretending to be grumpy about it. Triton shook his head and headed down the stairs after his sister at a much slower pace.

"Would they be the same if they weren't?" Poseidon asked, shoving his brother gently. It was rare for the two to be on terms with each other, but Thalia and Percy helped them see eye to eye.

Xxxxxx

"Luke!" Percy's cry rang out through the arena, luckily it was empty or she'd be getting some really weird looks. Most people in Elysium thought she hated him.

"Over here!" a distant call cried out and she skipped along the worn path that held abandoned swords, shields and others of the likes. She was in a happy mood after hearing what Thalia had told her, and was excited to ask Luke about it.

"Hey!" she called as soon as she was close enough for him to hear her well. He was sitting with a half empty water bottle in his hand, watching the sunset. It wasn't a true sunset, mind you. It was fake and if you studied it hard enough, you could tell.

"What's up?" he asked as she plopped to the ground beside him and they had sat in silence for a few moments.

"I have a question." She stated, rubbing her hands together anxiously.

"Yeah?" he asked, taking a swig of water and raising his eyebrows at her "This should be good."

"Why didn't you tell me about the Rise." She asked, and he flinched. His eyes got a faraway look in hem as he stared at the pseudo sunset.

"I didn't think it mattered. I'm not going." He whispered, a deep hurt shone in his eyes and Percy realized he hadn't given up the thought that he was a traitor.

"Look at me." She growled, and when he didn't, she pulled his chin so he was looking at her "You are not a traitor. We all make mistakes and the thing that matters is that I've forgiven you." For a moment, it seemed he just turn away, hide his emotions, but then he wrapped his arms around her. Something wet touched her shoulder and she realized he was crying.

"Luke, if I forgive you, they'll forgive you. Your father misses you and I know he's hoping you come to Olympus." She pauses for a moment and continues. "I don't care if I'm called a traitor because I run to greet you, but I'll be the first one." She whispered and he lifted his head away to look into her eyes. Their faces where about an inch apart.

"Persephone, I-" A loud cry startled them and they bonked heads before jumping to their feet. It was Theseus and by the looks of it, he had very important news.

"Percy!" he yelled, running up to them with anguish on his face.

"What?" she asked, her eyes wide with worry as she took in her brother's face? He was gasping for air and it took him a second before he could speak again.

"Triton. Is. Here. He's looking for you. Urgent." He was doubled over and Percy raced passed him with Luke at her heels. The arena flashed by in an arrangement of flying colors like a dream in fast forward motion. Luke raced ahead of her, but she was on his heels, following him down darkening streets, towards Achilles house. How they knew where to go, she didn't know. They surged through the door and she rammed right into Triton, who gripped her arms in a vice hold.

"Percy!" he cried, hugging her before holding her in the hold again. "We've got to go. Nico's already on the field. We need to go!" with that, he flashed them away, leaving the others in a state of shock.


	12. Tartarus again?

Chapter 11

It was all like a dream. She couldn't remember throwing her old armor on or saying goodbye to anyone, but she assumed she did because here she stood in front of a trench a mile wide. No, trench wasn't the right word. Not for this place of death and sorrow.

"Tartarus." She hissed, flinching even as she said the word. Nico shivered beside her and the two stood side by side, staring in with wide eyes.

"Apollo told them not to send us back." Nico whispered and Percy realized that even though she was only sixteen, he was even younger.

"I know. Imagine though, nobody but we will ever know the horrors. We're saving a lot of people from this place." She knew she was fooling herself, she didn't feel like following her fatal flaw now. She felt like going to Olympus and quitting. Telling the gods to fight their own war.

"Percy." His eyes were wide with fright and she realized that this place most likely terrified him ore then it did her.

"You're not going back." Her eyes got a determined look in them and suddenly Mrs. O'Leary Was standing next to her.

"What?" he cried? Percy grabbed the sword at his belt, ignoring the stinging sensation that enveloped her as she gripped it.

"Mrs. O'Leary, take Nico to Olympus and keep him there. Do not let him leave." She growled and the hellhound barked in reply as she approached Nico with the pits of hell burning in her eyes.

"Percy! You can't!" he called and she smiled softly at him.

"Yeah, I can." With that, she fell backwards, into Tartarus with her arms spread eagle like. A sadistic grin spread across her face and she closed her eyes and let the gravity of Tartarus take over. It was going to be a long ride.

Xxxx

The council room was in chaos as the Rise began to happen. The dead would soon be arriving, but a twist had been added to the god's plans. A giant hellhound had arrived with the son of the underworld in its mouth. He was screaming at the dog and for Percy to change her mind and his eyes where wild with fright. Instantly the gods knew something was wrong, why would this boy be here, and without Percy?

"Nico!" Hades cried, jumping forward and racing towards the demigod as Mrs. O'Leary set him down.

"We were at the pit and suddenly Persephone got this weird look in her eye and told Mrs. O'Leary to take me!" he cried, he was hysterical and Apollo rushed up and quickly put him into a deep sleep, creating a stretcher that floated in the air. A harsh cry came from the left and the gods turned to see Poseidon on his knees with a terrified look in his eyes.

"This is why he doesn't have demigod children that are girls." Aphrodite snickered, not understanding the solemnity of the subject. She would've been dead if Poseidon had heard it, but he was lost in a trance. Zeus was at his brother's side in an instant and was shaking him.

"My daughter." Poseidon whispered, just as the throne room doors where thrown open and hundreds of demigods walked in. All were excited about this mysterious, Rise. They were laughing and calling out to one another, but as soon as they saw the room in such disarray, they stopped.

"My lords, what is going on here?" Chiron asked, always polite and curious at the same time. Zeus shook his head slowly as he knelt by his brother while Hestia took it upon herself to share the news.

"Today we sent Nico di Angelo and Persephone Jackson to the edge of the pits of Tartarus. We believed that if we sent them, then nobody else would have to suffer the horrors. As of right now, we know that Nico di Angelo was sent back here on request of Persephone Jackson and that she has entered the pit, alone." Dead silence filled the room before a tentative hand rose into the thick air.

"What is the Rise?" it was a little girl, no older than eight who could not know the extent of the seriousness of this situation. She had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, showing everyone that she was the daughter of the sun.

"The Rise," Zeus paused tiredly before standing up "Is one of our most kept secrets. It's the day when all demigods in Elysium are brought back to life for one week every one hundred years." Shocked silence followed before a curious daughter of Athena burst out

"Does that mean that our friends and family will once again be with us?"

"Yes. For one week, celebrations will be held on Olympus and all are invited to attend. Let the Rise, begin." The words held the silence for a few minutes before doors on the opposite side of the throne room were opened and in came hundreds more demigods. Luckily, the throne room had been enlarged for this event. Friends and family ran to hug, but a few hung back and were quite noticeable to the ones paying attention. Achilles, Theseus, and Odysseus surrounded a figure in a type of half moon. All of them were scanning the room in concern and then the middle figures eyes landed on Nico.

"Achilles," he whispered, nodding at the figure. Theseus's eyes widened in horror and he gripped Luke's arm in a vice hold.

"Luke Castellan, what brings you to Olympus?" the voice rang out and quieted all groups of demigods and gods alike. Achilles stepped in front of him boldly and eyes the gods with mistrust.

"He is here on orders from me. He's an apprentice of the heroes and you will not harm him." Harsh silence followed and Zeus shook his head.

"His name has already been cleared, you cannot harm him." A voice echoed from the room, carrying power and grace and death all at the same time. The fates stood in the corner, eying the room with distaste while the middle on spoke.

"We were not planning on harming him." Hermes said, eyeing the room with a warning expression that caught Luke off guard.

"No, you were not, but others were. Namely, demigods. Persephone Jackson's actions in the past month have proved that she does not see him as a traitor." Many muttered, questioningly and the middle fate laughed a dark, haunting laugh.

"Ah! You do not know!" she cackled and turned a gruesome grin on the gods, "Persephone Jackson has kept this a very well hidden secret if she has even fooled you." She had an evil grin and motioned for everyone to sit down and be quiet. "Let me tell you a story." She hissed as the gods took their seats on the thrones and the demigods took to the floor as if it were soft pillows.

"A long time ago, sixteen years ago, to be in fact. A girl with sea green eyes was born. When we saw that she had been born, we thought it would be easy to just," she paused and glared at Poseidon with an evil eye "Snip her cord. For some reason though, we couldn't." She pulled a string out of her pocket, it was much more glamourous then any of the gods had ever seen and hundreds of different strings were attached to it. Reds, yellows, blues, green, and golds were intertwined into it and the fates looked at with, was that…envy?

"We've learned, over the years, that Persephone Jackson is full of surprising and sometimes wonderful surprises." The shorter of the fates said and most were confused.

"Don't you control all of us though?" one demigod asked, a blonde son of Athena.

"There is one that we do not control. She is out of our control." Each of them stroked the string in awe before turning to the gods. "Persephone Jackson's fate is not ours to control. Her story was written long before our time and is still being written. Ask the old heroes what our do̱reán (free, uncontrolled) has been up too." With that, they disappeared, leaving a shocked silence as the gods pondered on what they had been told.


	13. Captured

"Achilles. You seem to be the leader of this group, please, tell us a story." Zeus didn't need to specify what story, because everyone knew what he was talking about.

"Sir, there is nothing to tell. Persephone Jackson has been training with our group for the past month." They all knew he was hiding something, but nobody pushed him farther, as he had a determined look in his eye that said not to test him.

"My lord, if I may ask. Where is my sister?" Theseus asked his father. An awful silence filled the room and nobody knew who was going to answer.

"Your sister," It was Artemis, surprisingly. "Decided to enter Tartarus without back up. As of right now, we do not know how she fairs." Silence filled the room as horror filled the eyes of the heroes who had trained Percy.

"Father!" the yell came from the throne room doors, and in burst Triton as he pushed aside demigods to reach the middle of the throne room. In his hand was a bag with a piece of paper connected to it. "This arrived a few minutes ago, you should read the note." Poseidon didn't take the bag though, just stared at it emptily as Triton held it out. Eventually, Hestia took the bag from her nephew and tore the note off the bag. She began to read after a moment's hesitation:

_Olympian Gods;_

_I feel joyous when I announce to you that Persephone Jackson has fallen in battle. _

_No, No. She has not died yet, but soon will. In this bag, is what remains of your hope _

_In her coming back. _

Many gasps resounded around the room, and Hestia hesitantly reached into the bag to pull out. A pen. A gleaming, beautiful, gold, ball point pen. Its side had tiny letters engraved into it and those who recognized the weapon stared.

"No. No. No." the words were whispered into the thin air over and over by many. Demigods and gods alike said the word, but none said it so loudly as Poseidon, who looked heartbroken at the sight of the pen.

It was then that Hestia handed another thing to Zeus, a small, round circle that seemed to glow with childish colors and dreamlike shapes. He looked at it for a moment, hesitating as he twirled it around in his hands.

"All demigods, leave." He announced as the gods watched the circular disk in his hands spin on its own accord in his palm. Everyone left. That is, everyone except the ol' heroes of myth and Luke. Zeus watched them for a second before nodding his head, silently giving them permission to stay. With that, he let the disk spin off his hand and into the air where it promptly, fell into the hearth fire. A moments silence before dozens of lights shone out of the flames, creating a type of very flat screen TV that could be viewed from both sides. The screen was black.

"_Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym." _It was in Kronos's voice. _"Monsters are real, ghosts are real. They live inside us and sometimes, they win." Screams echoed and a quick image of a person with dark hair and pale skin flashed by."_

_ "__The devil, I've learned, isn't always the monsters that chase and kill. Sometimes he's, beautiful." More images, this time of the same person, smiling, but the next image was a swing swinging in the breeze._

_ "__Grab a plate and throw it on the ground. Did it break? Now say sorry to it. It didn't put itself back together again, did it?" It showed a plate falling through the air and shattering in slow motion._

_ "__The roses have wilted. The violets are dead. The demons run in circles, inside my head." Raucous laughing and faces of cells with mad faces flashed across the scream. Then it went black _

_Screaming, bloody, murder in the night screaming. Silence. Silence so loud, it could kill. Images of blood dripping down walls, pooling on the floor, creating a flawless, red surface. A lake of burgundy liquid. More screams, more violent this time. Raucous laughing. Bloody knives, dead bodies, silence. Unseeing eyes, mouths held open in a gasp. Begging now, it's a boy. His voice is broken and whispery. Shorter, more pain filled screams. Then, Silence._

The video paused as Aphrodite and Demeter fled the room. Artemis had a sick look on her face while Apollo looked green. Luke had an impassive guise, as if he was just blocking it all out.

_Pale green eyes where the first thing it showed, but the camera backed up to reveal the thin, lithe body of Persephone Jackson. Her armor had been removed to reveal a light blue tank top that faded to white towards the bottom. Her hair was pulled back. She hung limp from bindings both at her feet and her wrists. One side of her face was bloody and bruised while the other was still untouched. Pale blue veins etched themselves up her arm like spider webs. She breathed slowly, they could hear it. In. Out. In. Out. It sounded raspy._

_"__Persephone Jackson. You came back!" it was Kronos and he entered into view. His eyes gleamed gold and victorious._

_"__What do you want?" she snarled, her lips raised in a feral snarl, her eyes the only thing betraying her angry gaze._

_"__Don't I get the opportunity to just visit with my granddaughter?" he asked and she coughed out a laugh that sounded more pained then anything._

_"__Yeah, right. That's why you have me chained to a wall." She growled, watching him as he paced the room in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back._

_"__Rhea wishes I just had you hanging here for that, but sadly, I don't just. Visit." H snarled at her and stepped closer until he was inches away from her._

_"__Then what are you doing here?" she tilted her head and got a deadly look in her eye._

_"__Payback." He whispered, a knife appearing in his hand._

_He sliced open the side of her arm, just above the elbow. Blood trickled down to her shoulder, but Percy didn't wince or give him pleasure of seeing her hurt._

_ "That's all you've got?" she smirked at him with a darker gleam in her eyes that wasn't recognizable to many._

"Don't test him, Seph." Luke growled, he was staring at the screen, standing with his shoulders back with tension. The gods turned to look at him as he began to pace underneath the screen.

"You've seen this side of Kronos?" Hermes asked, tilting his head questioningly. Luke paused and looked up at him, the scar on the side of his face glinted dangerously. Without batting an eye, he lifted the hem of his shirt up to the middle of his stomach to reveal dozens of scars, some deep enough to kill. Hermes whimpered while Zeus looked down at him questioningly.

"Didn't you join him willingly?" he asked and Luke nodded his head slowly.  
"I did. I wanted out though, after I met Persephone. He did this to me and said he'd do worse to her if I turned against him." He let his shirt fall and stood, watching the screen that had frozen on the gleam in Percy's eyes. "She'll be able to hold off for a while. Tartarus made her strong, but she won't hold out forever." Nobody spoke, they just turned back to the screen.

_"That was just the beginning." Kronos smiled at her, it was terrifying. "You know, Luke once tried defying me. He said he changed his mind about the gods. I couldn't have that and I told him if he ever changed sides, I would kill him and torture you. I got the first one and now, I get to fulfill the second." He jumped forward again and slashed across her stomach, then up so it became slightly deeper and cut into her rib cage. A short intake of breath was all he got in reply. He took the knife and traced her jaw lightly, cutting it as deep as a paper cut. Then, he took out a pocketknife and twirled it in his hand for a few moments._

_ "I've heard that imperial gold slowly kills a demigods essence." He twirls it one more time, watching her eyes before stabbing down, into her thigh. Now an exhale, a little louder, from Percy. Next, he took his larger knife and cut away her shirt so it was just a crop top. It revealed ugly looking scars across her stomach._

_ "Who gave you those? I must say, I much admire their work." He said, tracing one of them, cutting it open._

_ "My first stepfather, he liked that sort of thing." She said, her eyes glimmered slightly in pain, but she quickly hid it behind the mask she held._

"What?" Yelled Poseidon. His figure was flickering and Zeus looked at him in worry.

"Brother. Please calm down, we must finish this video." He said, and Triton nodded in appreciation, but his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

_"Well, I must give him my thanks. Next time I see him." He traced a smaller scar on the side of her abdomen with a finger, almost gently. "Let us continue." He pulled the knife out of her leg, twisting it as he did so and this time, a sharp intake of breath left him laughing._

_ "That mask of yours is failing. How long until it falls completely?" he cut up her arm, careful not to his an artery. Once he reached her chained wrists, he followed them around her wrist, then skipped over them and drew and X across her palm. Next, he moved to her next arm and did the same thing. _

_ "I think we should move on." He said, studying his work. He threw the knives to the edges of the room before summoning a box of matches._

_ "I can't have you bleeding out on me." He whispered, striking one of them and holding the flame to one of the X's, tracing it and making sure the skin curls and blackens before taking it away. Next, he strikes a few more and holds them to the wound on her thigh. This time, Percy whimpers slightly._

_ 'Does that hurt?" Kronos asks and she glares at him, trying to keep the mask on her face, but failing slowly._

_ "Maybe I should let you sleep on it, see how you feel in a few hours." He picked up the bloody knives, but left the dead matches lying at her feet. A burst of light, followed by darkness showed the cell door opening, then closing behind the titan._

**I do not own the quotes by Stephen King and unknown authors**


	14. I love her

Chapter 13

**I'm not going to go into any more detail on torture because I'm really bad at writing it and also for if there are younger readers on the site.**

Two weeks had gone by since the day they had first received the video and Percy's weapon. Zeus had decided to let Luke and the others stay for a while longer, at least until Percy was found. Olympus had been in uproar for the past week. Gods where coming and going so quickly it was hard to know who hadn't been there. The enemy hadn't shown their faces and Zeus had suspicions that the only thing they'd wanted was Percy.

Luke had continued training, his father had even been helping him with his teleportation abilities. Right now, he was watching the sun sink in the sky, it was nice to see real sunsets and he remembered vividly, watching them with Percy.

"Luke!" the call came from his right and he turned to see Chiron making his way up the cliff towards him. Luke stood to greet him with a small smile.

"Hey, Chiron." Luke didn't know how his old mentor would react to him being on the outer limits of the camp. He'd needed to get off Olympus and this was the only 'safe' place he could go.

"Luke. If I may ask, what are you doing here?" Chiron's intuition served him well, but Luke had always been a mystery to the old centaur.

"Thinking. Reliving old memories." Luke replied, turning back to watch the sun turn a dazzling shade of pink as its bottom had sunk below the horizon.

"Why?" Chiron watched him with slight caution. Luke had never been one for reliving the past, so that was news to him.

"The gods offered me immortality, along with Achilles, Odysseus, and Theseus." Chiron smiled softly at the demigod son of Hermes.

"That's wonderful, Luke. Why haven't you accepted yet?" Luke shook his head and that was when Chiron saw the anguish in the boy's eyes.

"I can't." Luke replied, turning away from his old mentor and standing on the edge of the cliff, looking down to see the waves crashing against it angrily.

"Why?" Chiron asked, not following the hero.

"I don't know. I guess I just want to wait and see what happens to Persephone first." He replied, kicking a loose pebble and watching it tumble into the rough waters below.

"Persephone will return, and when she does, I suggest you be there to witness it." Chiron didn't wait for an answer, he just cantered back down the cliff, towards camp. Luke watched him go for a moment before teleporting himself back to Olympus.

Xxx

"Luke! I've been meaning to talk to you." Anthony's voice carried towards him through the busy streets of Olympus and Luke felt a tinge of anger at hearing his voice.

"Anthony." He bitterly replied, staring at the boy who had once been so smart.

"I've heard that you've been hanging out with Percy. I don't think that's such a great idea." Anthony replied, not pausing for a beat. Luke froze, his mind reeling slightly to comprehend what the boy had just told him. "You see, Percy isn't the smartest and you're a bad influence on her-" His voice was choked off by the depth of anger in Luke's eyes.

"Chase, I used to think you were a great kid, but now, after you've cheated on the best hero of all time and then have the nerve to confront me about being bad for her, I think you can just," he tilted his head dangerously and stepped closer "Stay the hell away."

"I'm just saying what's true. You and I both know she's not the smartest and without me, she never would've been able to defeat, well, you." Anthony stood there with a smirk on his face, but Luke's went deathly calm as a silence rang over him. His fists curled up and_ wham!_ He punched the younger demigod in the jaw, knocking the kid out. He stood over him for a moment, looking down at the face of the son of Athena before turning around. He wasn't ready for the next surprise. Thalia Grace stood watching him, her arms folded across her chest. She wore her normal, hunter getup and Luke tried to walk past her but she stopped him with a crackle of energy.

"I should've warned you what a big ego he had." She frowned down at the boy before turning back to Luke and studying him for a moment. "I have a few questions and you can answer them the easy way, or the hard way." Luke sighed when she said this and nodded his head slowly, motioning for her to lead the way. She led him down several different roads and soon he was lost and hoping she knew her way better than he did.

"Okay, this is good." They were in an old alley way that looked like it hadn't been used in about a hundred years.

"What do you want to know? "He asked, sitting down on the cobblestone and watching her pace in front of him. She didn't reply for several moments.

"Why did Percy come to you for training?" she asked finally and he sighed.

"She said that I was the only one who could train her." Thalia froze in front of him and he watched her face carefully.

"There are plenty who would be able and willing to train her here on Olympus." Thalia hissed, beginning to pace again.

"Yes, I know. I think she wanted to be somewhere where she didn't have to worry about being judged. Being a hero means being watched all the time, but when you're training with those of same or higher status then you, you aren't judged, you're trained." He paused for a moment and Thalia knelt next to him on the damp cobblestone.

"She could've trained with the hunters." Thalia replied, her blue eyes questioning.

'Yes, but you and I both know that Percy would never fit in with them. Most of her friends are male, she came where she felt most comfortable and that was-" he paused and frowned.

"With you. She felt most comfortable with the person that tried to kill her several times. Right." Thalia shook her head and sat down next to him, leaning her head against the wall.

"Thalia. To be honest, Percy doesn't really care if she lives or dies. You and I have both seen her in battle. She takes chances that no other person could afford. She's never known what it's like not to be fighting for her life, so she does things that others wouldn't." He replied, Thalia tucked her head between her legs and groaned softly.

"Sometimes she's so normal, then other times she looks at you with this look that," she pauses and looks at him "It looks like she's studying you, trying to figure out what your next move will be and how to kill you."

"That would be the warrior in her. I think she came to me because I'm the exact same way. I try to know every person's weaknesses and use them against them. That's why I'm so good at turning on people." he replied softly, folding his hands in front of him. Thalia was silent for a moment before replying.

"You don't do it to everybody. You've learned to control it, Luke. I think Percy taught you that." He looked up at her and saw the electric blue eyes, tears blurred his vision and he ducked his head.

"I love her, Thalia." He cried out and Thalia let out a soft gasp.

"Luke, look at me." Her voice was softer now and he did.

"Percy was heartbroken when she had to hand you that knife. She blamed herself for it. If you truly love her, then I can promise you that it'll be okay." She said and he wiped his eyes quickly.

"Can you keep that to yourself, Thalia?" he asked after a few seconds. Thalia smiled and punched his arm, not gently.

"Of course. What are friends for?" she stood up and walked away, leaving him sitting there, but at the corner of the alley, she stopped "By the way, the gods got a message this morning, it seems they'll be getting an Iris message in," she looked at the sun. "Right about now, I think you should be there." It took him a few seconds, but he understood her message and leapt to his feet. He'd already done his limit of teleportation for the day, but that didn't mean he couldn't run.


	15. Iris Message

Percy didn't know how long it had been since she had been captured. Bruises lined her abdomen, marking it purple and black. Her arms dripped blood and the ground had long since grown sticky with it. Her hair was a tangled mess, a reddish color now. Knife wounds lined her face, arms, legs, and abdomen. Some had been cauterized, but others were raw and open. Pain had long since left she in a frenzied state and she barely heard her cell door open only a few hours after Kronos had left.

"Persephone." She recognized the voice immediately, Ethan Nakamura stood in the doorway with a bucket.

"Ethan." she didn't know what she should feel towards the fellow demigod.

"Rhea wants you to know that she's working on a plan to get you out of here." He replied, stepping into the cell and shutting the door behind him. It was dark for a moment before he lit the torch on the far corner of the room. Its unearthly glow had been unwelcome until now.

"Rhea? As in the big three's mother?" she asked and Ethan nodded his head. His eyepatch was black, but she could still make out the dark brown of his other eye. It wasn't filled with mirth like the last time she'd seen him.

"Apparently divorce is looked down upon with the titans," he relied "Kronos keeps her around so he doesn't look like a fool. He allows her free roam of the castle as long as she obeys him."

"Isn't divorce looked down upon with the gods too?" Percy asked, and he frowned.  
"I wouldn't know." He replied, setting the bucket down in front of her and dropping a rag into it. "She's asked me to wash your wounds. Its salt water, is that alright?" he asked and she nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I would suggest you dump the water on me, but we don't want Kronos finding out about this." She replied and he nodded in agreement.

"After I clean your wounds, Rhea's given me permission to Iris message Olympus, if you want," Percy's face brightened when she heard this and she nodded her head eagerly.

"Yes, please!" she replied, then winced as he washed the deep slash mark in her stomach. After that, they settled into an uncomfortable silence, neither sure what to talk about since they'd only seen each other couple of times. It took almost an hour for him to get the caked blood from her skin, but she looked much better afterwards. Finally, he stood up and watched a few of her minor injuries close up before taking the bucket to the door.

"Ready?" He asked and she frowned, suddenly wondering how they were going to Iris message without a rainbow.

"Yeah." She replied, and too her surprise, the demigod called upon the goddess with no offering or rainbow. A few moments later, the Olympian throne room came into view. Several gasps were heard and she rolled her eyes slightly at their 'horror'.

"Hey, guys." She said, glaring at the son of Nemesis who was making a weird face at her.

"Persephone." She mentally groaned as she heard the sadness in her father's voice. This might not have been a good idea after all.  
"Hi, Dad. Nice seeing you." At this, the son of Nemesis face palmed and sat down against the cell door. Percy was trying hard not to laugh at him and Zeus noticed this.

"Is there someone in that cell with you?" He asked and Ethan froze for a moment, his face doing some weird expression that was part mortified, part trying not to laugh.

"Uh, yeah. She replied, motioning with her head for the demigod to come over. Sadly, she hit her head on the wall and dropped forward for a moment in pain.

"Did you really just do that?" Ethan asked, coming over and looking at the screen for a moment,

"Bad idea." She mumbled, trying to reposition herself so she wasn't hanging from the wall.

"Duh," he rolled his eyes and turned to the screen to bow "My name is Ethan Nakamura, demigod son of Nemesis and caretaker of Persephone while she's locked up here." He said, most of the gods were eyeing his eye patch and he shifted uncomfortably before the screen turned towards a blonde haired son of Hermes.

"Ethan? Last I heard, you were serving Lady Rhea." Luke was watching him with a suspicious gaze.

"I am. She put me up to the task of Iris messaging you guys for Percy." He replied, leaning against the wall below Percy's hands.

"Mother has you captive?" Demeter asked with a mortified expression, Percy shook her head quickly.

"I wish. Kronos has been keeping me captive and Rhea heard about it." She answered as the screen returned to the middle of the throne room where she could easily see everyone there.

"What's he been doing to you?" Zeus asked slowly and Percy raised her eyebrows while Ethan choked on his spit.

"Let's see," she made a fake, thoughtful expression before answering "Stabbing, slashing, drowning, poison, cauterization, and I think that's it for now." She replied. Triton was staring at her like she was stupid while the others were watching Apollo.

"Drowning, huh?" Apollo asked, he wore his usual getup, but he had a small badge on the right side of his shirt that read 'Dr. Apollo'.

"Uh huh. It's not very fun when it's the water from the Lithe," she paused "I haven't forgotten anything though so I guess that's good." Ethan snorted and shook his head at her.

"Very good." Apollo nodded his head thoughtfully. A few seconds silence followed and Percy shifted uncomfortably.

"So." She wasn't sure what to say.

"I have something to say." Ethan blurted out and Zeus motioned for him to continue, thankful it wasn't every day that you got to talk to a traitor and a prisoner at the same time.

"Persephone's execution date is-" Percy interrupted him.

"I have an execution date?" she asked and Ethan glared at her before continuing.

"Her execution date is set for next week. Rhea has it planned to get Percy out of here a few days before that. Sadly, we won't be able to get her to you before the worst tortures unfold." Poseidon frowned as he watched his daughter study the son of Nemesis. It seemed like she was trying to find his weaknesses, but the moment ended and she was back to her normal self.

"Great! What's next?" she asked, faking excitement.

"Poison." He replied and Percy fell silent.

"What type?" Apollo asked, he now had a tablet in his hands and was writing notes on it.

"We aren't sure. All I know is that it has only one cure and that is to fight it." He replied and Apollo frowned at him.

"When should we expect Percy?" Zeus asked, Percy watched him for moment, surprised that he looked so tired. They all looked tired.

"Four days from now." Ethan nodded his head like he was agreeing with himself. "It'll be the day after the poisoning, so she'll most likely be just beginning to have side effects when she gets to you."

"We'll be ready." Apollo answered, flashing away to prepare his temple.

"Switching subjects. Percy, how are you?" Hestia asked, she was in her eight year old form and was sitting with her back to the fire in the hearth.

"I'd say exceptionally great for being tortured every day." She replied before frowning.

"Is there something we should know?" Zeus asked his niece worriedly. Ethan stepped out of the image to go sit by the door.

"Um, yeah." She wasn't sure how she was supposed to put what she wanted to say, so she stayed quiet for a moment. "I'm, never mind." She shook her head and they saw for a moment the battle worn Percy. The one that didn't know peace and silence and beauty.

"Persephone," Poseidon gently said her name and she lifted her head to look at him. "It's okay to be scared. We've all been scared at one point or another and truthfully, none of us would be dealing with your situation as well as you are."

"I don't know how to put this, Um." She froze for a moment and shook her head "Luke-" a loud noise outside the cell made Percy jump. Ethan swiped through the message quickly before blowing the torch out and opening the cell door.

"I'll be back soon." He said and raced out the door, letting darkness fall on her. A sob wracked her body, but she held it in and let her eyes solidify into the orbs they were during her torture. The room brightened and a large figure stood in the doorway.


	16. Change the Ancient Laws

The image of Persephone Jackson faded. The image of her eyes was branded into their minds though. It was the first time most of them had seen her so scared.

"We should never have sent her and Nico to fight." Athena finally stated after a few moments of silence.

"Nice of you to realize you made a mistake." Luke hissed, his eyes where dark and shocking. He shoved the throne room door open and exited.

"I think it's time we rewrote some of our rules." To everyone's shock, it was Hera who said this. The others nodded in agreement.

"Change is long since due." Demeter agreed with her while Artemis smiled.

"Let us rewrite the ancient laws. I vote that we allow gods to visit their children." Artemis said and Zeus looked at his daughter with a curious expression before nodding his head.

"All who vote yes?" Everybody raised their hands with smiles on their faces.

"Then go see your kids." Zeus motioned for them to leave and everyone flashed out. Artemis went to her palace while Poseidon went to his Palace with Triton and the others went to Camp Half-blood.

Xxx

To say Chiron was surprised when eight gods flashed in was an understatement. He'd just gotten done teaching an archery class and was heading towards the big house when they appeared in front of him with faces like little kids on Christmas. They all started walking separate ways and Chiron was left without an explanation.

"Chiron!" He was relieved when Hera appeared in front of him.

"My Lady." He bowed, but Hera just waved him off and looked around for a few minutes.

"We've changed the ancient laws. Gods are now allowed to visit their children, so you'll most likely be seeing more of us." She said and he nodded in shock, not quite understanding what she said. "Also, in four days' time, we will be expecting Persephone Jackson here." She didn't specify where she was coming from, but Chiron was immensely relieved to hear that statement. She disappeared without waiting for reply and Chiron continued on his journey towards the big house. He stood on its porch and watched the gods interacting with their children throughout the camp.

Xxx

"Luke!" Hermes yelled, following his son down a forest path. It was dark and he could barely see the retreating form of his son.

"Over here." His son yelled back, Hermes was shocked when the forest suddenly opened into a beautiful field filled with Pegasi of different ages and colors.

"What is this place?" He asked, looking around at the beauty. The grass was greener then the grass on Olympus and rainbows glittered across the trees surrounding them. The far corner was a sandy, white beach that's bright blue waters rushed gently ashore.

"Persephone created this place. You can't come here unless you don't have any bad intentions. It's a haven for Pegasi and Horses. They can live their whole lives without danger and as you can see, it's perfect." Luke approached a tiny filly who was throwing up her heels and racing around in circles.

"Hello, little one." He said in Greek and the little Pegasus lifted its head towards him, its tiny nose quivering slightly.

"How'd she create this place?" Hermes asked, kneeling next to his son and watching as the young Pegasus approached. Her white coat glittered in the sunlight.

"Percy's more powerful than any of us even know." Luke replied, stroking the soft nose of the filly before standing. Hermes stood up with him and followed his son as he approached a black Pegasus.

"Why are we here?" He asked and Luke looked at him, his blue eyes glittering.

"I'm getting a ride to Tartarus. Ethan messaged me the minute I left and told me that I'll need armor, weapons, and two pegasi." He sighed "I have to talk to Blackjack about that." He nodded towards the big Pegasus that was now coming their way with an upset look on its face.

"Hey, Blackjack. I'm in need of some help." Luke knew the Pegasus hated him, so he remained cautious. Blackjack shook his head and reared slightly with his ears back.

"Yeah, I know buddy. What if I told you it was to get Persephone?" this caught the Pegasus's attention and he tilted his head, as if questioning Luke.

"Percy's in Tartarus and she'll need a Pegasus that's very responsible to bring her home since she'll be sick." Blackjack puffed himself up at Luke's words about a responsible Pegasus and Luke found it hard not to laugh.

"We'll leave tomorrow, Can you find a Pegasus that doesn't hate me for me to ride?" He asked and Blackjack sighed and walked away.

"How do you even know what he's saying?" Hermes asked and Luke smiled.

"I don't." He walked back towards the forest, past the snow white filly who was now asleep under a fern. Hermes followed, shaking his head.

**One quick note…Pegasi is plural for pegasus.**


	17. Change of plans

Percy had waited three days and was beginning to get nervous, what if she wasn't strong enough to fight off the poison? What if she didn't make it out of here? She shook her head and growled mentally to herself just as the door burst open and Ethan came racing in.

'Change of plans! We're getting you out of here today! Kronos isn't going to come see you today and your execution was moved to tomorrow." He practically shouted, slashing through her chains. She fell forward and he quickly dragged her to her feet and pulled her out of the cell.

"Where are we going?" she asked. Ethan had to practically carry her down the hallway, as her legs didn't want to work.

"Rhea's chambers. You'll be safe there. You also have a visitor who'll be bringing you to the surface." He said, his brown eyes glinted with excitement and she realized that like her, he lived for the adrenaline rush. Percy realized she had been in the only cell in the castle and frowned.

"Kronos built the cell specifically for you. He has a whole temple built with cells in it, but he wanted you closer to home." Ethan answered her silent question and she grinned. Her feet having finally worked, she let of him and raced behind him up hundreds of steps. They finally stopped outside a dark, wooden door with a gold knob. Ethan knocked before entering and Percy dropped back to stand behind him.

Rhea wasn't at all like she had thought she would be. She had long, luscious brown hair that flowed in waves down her back. She had light brown eyes that glittered when she smiled. She wore a long, flowing deep green dress that sparkled when she moved. A circlet of rubies encircled her head, with a diamond in the very front. This was the titan queen.

"Persephone Jackson, what a pleasure!" her voice wasn't high or low, it flowed like water and seemed to have a life of its own. She came right up to Percy and hugged her. Dimly, Percy realized she should bow, but she was too shocked by the appearance of her…grandmother?

"Lady Rhea, it's nice to meet you." she meant to bow, but a hand on her shoulder prevented her.

"No formalities dear. It is wonderful to see my little Poseidon's daughter." Percy mentally snickered at her father being called little. "Your friend, Luke has been telling me what a hero you are." That was when Percy noticed Luke. He looked very different in titan army armor.

"Like my disguise?" He asked, walking up to her and holding his arms wide. Percy rushed forward to hug him and he laughed at her before hugging her back.

"It's good to see you." He whispered into her ear and she smiled softly.

"Luke, let go of Persephone please, I must get her ready to go back up top." Rhea said and Luke let go and shoved her towards her grandmother who wrapped an arm around her and led her through another door.

"I am so sorry for what my husband has done to you." Rhea said, eying the girl in front of her with sadness. Percy just shook her head.

"It's all in the job." She said and Rhea smiled back.

"Sadly, it is. Now, I'm assuming you'd love a bath?" Rhea asked and Percy's smile grew.

"Yes, please." She replied and Rhea pulled her through yet another door and into a large bathroom.

Xxx

Ethan and Luke had been discussing Kronos's new arm when Rhea came through a door with a smile on her face.

"Boys, may I introduced you to Persephone Jackson." She gestured towards the door, and Percy came out slowly. She had on a long, light blue, Greek style dress and her hair was pinned back with white flowers in it.

"I hate this." She mumbled under her breath at Rhea, but she was smiling and Rhea noticed it.

"You look fabulous." Luke said, walking towards her with his helmet under his arm. Percy smiled at him and twirled around once.

"I feel like I should be in armor too." She mumbled to him. The water had healed almost all her wounds, so only the bruises on her stomach where left, but those where covered by her dress.

"I have another surprise." Rhea announced and Percy turned towards her with a questioning look. "Ethan and I will be coming with you. I've had enough of my husband's rule and I think it's time I met my children." She had a smile on her face, but Ethan looked nervous.

Rhea looked around her chambers once more and then motioned for them all to leave. Luke and Percy exited first while Rhea came next and Ethan came last. They went down several flights of steps, but didn't see any guards of titans. Rhea seemed nervous, but she had a brave look on her face. They came out of the castle and into a large courtyard. In the middle of it stood four pegasi. One was grey, two where chestnut colored, while the last was a midnight black.

"Blackjack!" Percy rushed forward to hug the pegasus who was just as eager to see her.

"_Boss! You have no idea how creepy it is here!" _Blackjack said and Percy laughed at him.

"I do, Blackjack." She said, turning towards Rhea who was mounting the light grey one.

"This is Sooty, she's been with me almost her entire life." Rhea said, patting the pegasus fondly as Luke hopped onto the larger chestnut and Ethan cautiously approached the last one, who bared her teeth at him warningly.

"Don't worry, Ethan. She has a feisty temper, but she's a good steed." Rhea said, nudging Sooty and letting her sore into the air. Blackjack followed close behind and soon they were all flying through the dark, acid filled air.

Xxx

The gods waited anxiously in the field that Percy had created. The pegasi, sensing their anxiety, stayed away from them, bunched in a small circle near the woods. They'd gotten the message from Ethan that Percy was arriving early. Thalia stood beside her father and Triton was trying to calm a few of the higher energy pegasi that were bound to cause problems.

"Look!" A voice shouted from the group of minor gods gathered. The Olympians turned to see four pegasi making their way towards them, high in the sky. As they approached, the pegasi in the pasture grew even more restless and Triton gave up, coming over to stand next to his father worriedly.

"Four pegasi, four riders." Triton mumbled under his breath and Thalia looked at him worriedly before turning back to the sky. The first pegasus, a small chestnut landed with a buck, unseating her rider into the ocean. Laughter followed as the second chestnut landed next with Luke sitting upon it. The gods all gasped when they saw Percy. They'd expected her to be in bad shape, but she sat upon a deep, black Pegasus in a dress fit for a princess. Blackjack landed after Sooty and the gods watched as Rhea dismounted quickly. They weren't sure who she was, but they sensed the power around her. Blackjack decided to circle back and find another spot to land, since the only open place was were Ethan was sitting, soaked. He circled high in the air and landed in the ocean, knee-deep in water. He took long, high canter strides and Percy began to laugh at his discomfort of the water touching his stomach. He quickly took off again and landed closer to shore where he was only in a few inches of water. Luke was laughing now, having seen both Ethan fall off and Blackjack's discomfort. Rhea was shaking her head, watching the three demigods. Percy couldn't stop laughing as Blackjack snorted and sneezed, trying to get the water out of his nostrils. She hunched over his shoulders and patted his neck before hugging him. Her dress was soaked, but she didn't care. Luke walked over, trying to keep a straight expression, but after watching Blackjack sneeze and snort and shake his head in anger, he couldn't.

"Remind me not to ride the stupid pegasus next time." Percy said jokingly, but Blackjack hear and ducked his head between his front legs and let out a large, bucking frenzy.

"Okay, Okay!" Percy shouted and Blackjack stopped with a huff before walking out of the water and shaking, sending water spraying all over. Percy quickly dismounted, giving Blackjack a kiss on the cheek before he took off towards the herd. The others followed him and quickly they were lost. Now, it was time to face the gods.


	18. Meeting the family

Persephone Jackson, we expected you in worse state." Zeus eyed her outfit suspiciously while Luke rolled his eyes and leaned down to mutter into Percy's ear.

"You return in perfect health and he thinks we're traitors." Percy shushed him quickly, but couldn't help but smile at the truthfulness in his statement. Luckily, she didn't have to talk, as Rhea had stepped forward.

"Zeus, you've grown up to be quite a suspicious fellow, haven't you?" She said and the gods eyed her like she was some weird that had just spoken to them in a strange tongue. Rhea shook her head sadly. "None of you recognize your mother?" She asked and the jaws of most of the gods dropped. Zeus had a puffer fish face going on, moving his mouth open and closed over and over.

"Look at your faces! Aren't you supposed to be leaders?" Rhea stated and it was Demeter who was first to answer.

"Mother?" she asked, stepping forward, quickly followed by Hestia.

"Finally, someone who recognizes me." Rhea stepped forward and embraced her daughters while the others finally closed their jaws.

"Is this how we looked when we first met our parents?" Thalia asked, coming up to them a few minutes later while the six children of Rhea took their turns hugging her.

"I hope not." Percy said while Luke shook his quickly. Percy had since dried her dress, so it flowed gently in the wind. Her hair had come out of its tight curls and now lay on her back like heavy waves.

"So, how was Tartarus?" Thalia asked without care. Percy and Luke stared at her for a moment before Luke turned back to watching the gods while Percy answered.

"A wonderful vacation." Persephone sarcastically stated. Thalia rolled her eyes at her cousin before turning towards the gods.

"Looks like it was pretty eventful." She said, being her normal, careless self. Percy nodded, turning just in time to be captured in a hug.

"Whoa! Hi." She said, stepping back as Triton let go of her. He had a happy grin on his face.

"I'm glad you arrived in this state, rather than how you were supposed to arrive." He whispered, like it was a big secret. Thalia shook her head and walked away to join her father.

"So am I. My execution date was moved up, so I couldn't stay any longer. Rhea decided to come with us at last minute and she gave Ethan no option." She nodded towards Ethan who was avoiding all the gods and instead watching the pegasi interact.

"So, do we call her grandma?" Triton asked suddenly. Percy turned to watch Rhea, who was now interacting with their father.

"I don't know." She replied, letting her eyes fall on a more familiar figure in the crowd, Luke. He was talking to his father and for once, seemed happy about it. Everything went dark suddenly as hands covered her eyes and a childlike voice whispered in her ear.

"Guess who?" Artemis had grown to be like a sister in the past month and Percy turned to hug her.

"Hey!" Artemis had changed her appearance so now she looked about the age of Percy. Artemis studied her for a second before pulling her into a second hug.

"Father was worried about you." She whispered and Percy turned to look at her uncle who was watching them. She smiled and turned back to Artemis.

"Think I can still fight in the war?" she asked and Artemis laughed, letting go of her and linking her arm with Persephone's.

"You'll have to fight to get off Olympus, I think." She replied, Triton nodded in agreement before wandering off towards Apollo.

"I think I'm done fighting." Percy told her softly and Artemis looked at her for a moment.

"Really?" she asked and Percy's eyes shifted to a darker tone, like the ocean before a storm.  
"I want to try this thing called peace. I enjoyed the fight, but I've taken enough chances." Her voice had grown soft and she watched the gods interact with each other with an almost longing gaze.

"I think you should also try family." Artemis stated after a moment and Percy looked at her, confused. "You've been avoiding us, I think. You're scared for what could happen. I think it would be a good adventure for you, besides, I think I need to touch up on my family skills too." She said, looking at Apollo pointedly.

"Maybe I will." She smiled softly.

Xxx

Several hours later, most of the gods had left, but the Olympians where still there along with Triton and Rhea. Percy had left the group when the conversation had turned to politics and was now walking among the Pegasi who had calmed down enough to spread out throughout the meadow.

"Blackjack." She whispered, looking for the black pegasus in the fading light. A soft nicker greeted her and she walked towards it, away from the group of pegasi and towards a lone figure at the edge of the woods.

"_Hey, boss."_ The pegasus whispered into her mind, nuzzling her face. Percy grinned and stroked his neck for a few moments.

"You know, I've missed you." She whispered into his ear, leaping upon his back and hugging him around his broad, muscular neck.

"_Missed you too." _He replied, munching on a dark patch of meadow grass. She tucked her face under his mane so she could see nothing but black and could feel nothing but his warmth. Wind blew through the trees, rustling through his mane and letting in little flecks of blue and white light.

"Peaceful, him?" she asked and he snorted in agreement. Everything was beautiful, the waves crashing ashore, the wind in the trees, everything.

"Comfortable?" The voice startled her and sent Blackjack flying backwards, unseating her. She sat up and rubbed her head for a moment before looking up. Lord Zeus stood frowning down at her.

"I was." She grumbled, standing up, Blackjack walked up behind her and nudged her gently. She wrapped an arm around his head and kissed his cheek.

"Who's this?" Zeus asked, staring at the pegasus. Percy smiled and leaned her head against the winger horse.

"This, is Blackjack. He's carried me into battle more times than I can count and saved my life many more times than that." She said and Blackjack got a proud gleam in his eye.

"Well, I must say, Blackjack. Thank you for keeping my niece safe." He nodded to the pegasus in respect while Persephone stared at him in shock.


	19. Luke's feelings

Chapter 18

"I'm assuming that you are wondering why I am here." He said, his blue eyes where filled with lightning and Percy gulped nervously.

"Yeah, I am." She said and Blackjack stepped forward so he was in front of Percy while she stood at his shoulder.

"You see, I think we gods haven't been treating demigods fairly-" he was interrupted.

"No, you haven't." She smirked at him while he glared down at her.

"Which is why we are in the process of changing the Ancient Laws. We, the gods, would like you to know that we are welcome to suggestions." He said, watching her carefully. Her face held a calculating look as she stroked the pegasus.

"Thank you, my Lord." She finally replied, bowing slightly.

"No need for formalities, niece." Again, he shocked her as he walked away, back towards the group of gods. She stepped away from Blackjack and watched him go, when he was about halfway to the gods, she felt something prick the edge of her aura. It was dark and dangerous and she spun around and kicked their feet out from under them. The being struggled back and they rolled on the ground for a few minutes, each trying to get above the other. Finally, after a minute, she held a knife to the beings throat. He had dark skin, eyes, and hair.

"Nico?" she questioned, still holding the knife to his throat. He shook his head quickly, careful not to stab himself.

"Sorry!" she yelped, leaping off of him and pulling him to his feet. He looked worse for the wear. Several bruises where beginning to form on his face and his lip was cracked open.

"I shouldn't of creeped up on you, it's my fault." If Nico held any love for Percy now, it was in the cousinly fashion.

"It's also mine, I've been on edge since." She paused and let him fill it in for her. He didn't need to say it, he knew.

"You should get that cut looked at." He said, stepping forward to look at something on forehead.

"What?" she reached up to touch her left eyebrow and pain jolted her arm away. Blood coated the fingers she had used and she sighed.

"Looks like you got a good blow in." she sighed and stepped away from him to start towards the gods. He limped along next to her, one of his eyes already swollen shut.

"I think y armor cut you, I've got a rough spot on that hand that cuts me all the time." He replied, sorry like.

: its fine Nico." She smiled at him and he smiled back. The gods where still grouped around each other, but turned to watch them when they appeared. Blood now blocked her left eyes vision and she made sweeping motions with her head to watch that side. Nico, who had been on her right side noticed this and quickly switched sides so that he was protecting that side, even though they knew they wouldn't be attacked here. She shot him a grateful look before turning back to the gods.

"How does that happen in the minute it took me to get from there to here?" Zeus asked as Poseidon stepped forward worriedly.

"We're demigods. It's bound to happen." She replied as Nico mumbled something under his breath.

"That's a bad cut." Poseidon murmured, reaching out to touch it. Percy jerked away before his hand could and glared at him momentarily.

"I've had worse." She stated, sweeping the blood streaming down her face with a sleeve.

"Nico di Angelo! What did you do?" Percy winced and assumed Nico had too as Thalia's sharp voice came from there right. They turned sheepishly and Thalia got the full brunt of their injuries. "Is there no stop to your fighting? I've warned you both not to fight." She threw her hands up in the air while Nico and Percy both tried not to laugh at their cousin as she tried to act older.

"Uh, Thalia, Last I checked, it's you and Nico that fight a lot." Percy said. Holding her hand out momentarily to Nico. He smirked and they began to play a rather short game of rock, paper, and scissors.

"Persephone Jackson! You have quite the story to tell me when we get done here." She turned to Percy, but Persephone was too busy smirking at Nico who was rolling his eyes. Thalia went on for several seconds before a dark shadow passed over her mouth and she could no longer talk.

"Enough, Thals." He exasperatedly said and she lunged at him. They began rolling on the ground, Nico using shadows to his advantage while Thalia used electricity. A stray bolt shot at Percy, but she waved her hand and a stream of water shot up into the air. The lightning hit it and shot into the sky, creating a very loud bang that stopped both Thalia and Nico.

"You magnified that, didn't you?" Thalia glared at her while standing up.

"Yes, I did." She couldn't tell how she'd done it, just felt the energy drain. Nico stood up and nervously edged away from Zeus's daughter.

"Good job. I would train you in that, but Jason already claimed rights." Perc frowned at Thalia's words momentarily before it dawned on her.

"Ha!" Percy rolled her eyes at her cousin, but Thalia shook her head.

"Seriously, Perc. He really wants to train you. You're performing what we can do without even knowing it." Thalia seemed pretty serious, so Persephone watched her suspiciously.

"I'm better on my own." Percy murmured after a few moments and noticed that everyone was still watching her. She quickly glared at them before subconsciously heading towards who stood towards the edge of the group, still in conversation with his father.

"Hey." She smiled softly at him as he greeted her and rubbed her arms quickly as a cold wind blew in from the sea. The pegasi had all moved inland, huddled tightly together and several more gods had left. Only the big three, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia, and Rhea remained along with a few of the demigods.

"Hey." She mumbled, looking up at the sky which had taken on a deep, grey look to it. She stood close to him as he finished his conversation with his father. She kept a cautious eye on the woods, but knew monsters would be stupid to attack with all of them together.

"Time to head back!" Zeus's voice called over to them. He was standing between Thalia and Apollo. Artemis was talking to Rhea as they walked into the forest, ahead of everybody. Hermes jogged over to Apollo and the two immediately started in on a quick game of tag as they raced after the god and titan. Luke followed, but slowed down when he noticed that Percy was lagging behind. Hestia and Poseidon where only a few steps in front of them, but Luke dropped back anyway.

"Want a ride?" he asked quietly, even though he knew full well the gods could hear him. Persephone eyed him for a moment before nodding quickly. He motioned for her to jump on his back. After a moment, she obliged. Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks." She mumbled and he smiled softly at her, his blue eyes glistening. Poseidon glanced back at them and glared momentarily before Hestia pulled him back around.

"Anytime. Will you be ready for training tomorrow?" he asked, a sharp intake of breath made him assume no.

"Yeah. Just," she paused "Go easy on me." This shocked him, he'd never heard Seph say that. He turned his head slightly to see her. Her eyes were pale green, the scared color and she seemed to be lost in deep thought. They'd just reached the outskirts of camp, where the cabins were. The gods kept moving straight, heading towards their cabins, but Luke turned right, towards the beach.

"Where are we going?" she asked, lifting her head as soon as she noticed what he'd done.

"Going to talk." He carried her down a sand dune and kept walking down the beach for a short while until they were out of hearing distance of anybody.

"I don't want too." Luke rolled his eyes at how childish she sounded and yanked her down so she was sitting next to him.

"Too bad." He growled. "Start talking." He said the second part softer, but his voice still held warning in it. His blue eyes where icy.

"What do you want me to say/" she hissed and he shrugged his shoulders and waited. "I was tortured and now I'm back. I'm fine." She insisted, but Luke knew differently. Torture messed a person up. Tartarus messed up a person.

"No, you're not." He stated simply, watching her. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on the tops of her arms, her eyes didn't match the sea at this moment, and they looked the color of pale, spring grass. She sighed.

"You're right." She murmured and he jumped, not thinking she'd give in that easily "I'm still breathing, but a part of me feels dead. I don't know what I'm supposed to be feeling. Even the smallest sounds scares me." She hides her head in her knees at this point. "I try to stop how I'm feeling and I guess that's when I grow cold towards everyone. I don't want to be like that, so I try finding a place in between, but feeling hurts." He couldn't see the tears, but he knew they were there and he wrapped his arms around her, she lifted her face slightly to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Don't try to hide it. Where it like battle scars, you'll grow stronger if you do." He replied and she let out a soft sob.

"Battle scars?" she asked after a moment and he pulled away from her, grinning.

"Yeah, like this one." He tapped the scar on his face and she shook her head, smiling.

"I don't have many of those." She replied softly, ducking her head. He tilted his head at her momentarily.

"Don't you?" he asked and she frowned at him.

"I've had the curse of Achilles for most of my fighting career." She replied and he hugged her again.

"No. You've been fighting your whole life. That's why you became a warrior so fast." He looked into her eyes and she stared back, confused for a moment before it dawned on her.

"That wasn't-"

"Yes, it was. You hid those scars from your mother. You became a battle hardened warrior before you even saw war." His eyes darkened as he said this, but in the worried sense.

"If you say so." She wasn't in an argumentative mood. Leaning into him, she sighed and watched the waves. Luke leaned back against the dune.

"I'm going to miss you." She whispered, he rubbed her shoulder as they stared up at the stars.

"That won't be a problem." He said after a moment and she sat up to look down at him. He sat up too, with an excited twinkle in his eye. "The gods offered Achilles, Theseus, Odysseus, and I immortality." She stared at him, wide eyed.

"Can they do that?" she asked, surprised. Luke shrugged and she hugged him, tighter this time.

"That's great!" she exclaimed, he smiled and they went back to their original position, watching the stars. The huntress shined bright in the sky, her bow twinkling with vigor.

"I should get going." She said after a while and he nodded shortly, standing up when she did and wiping the sand from his clothes.

"Persephone, wait." He said as she started away, towards the Poseidon cabin. Since the battle, when half the cabins had to be rebuilt, Poseidon's had been rebuilt farther from the others, they'd have to separate to go to their cabins.

"What?" she turned in time for him to press his lips against hers. It was short, but sweet and he smiled at her and jogged away while she stood in shock, processing what had just happened.


	20. Disowned

Chapter 19

Percy walked into the cabin with a happy, yet confused look in her eye as she replayed the scene over in her head. Closing the door behind her, she noticed the tension in the air. Theseus glared at the floor while Triton lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling with worry obviously glinting in his eyes. That didn't scare her though, what scared her was the look in her father's eyes as he leaned against the wall, opposite from her. Whatever was going on, it would only blow up more if the two boys she called brothers tried to interfere.

"I thought," Poseidon paused and looked at her with dark eyes "You said you were just friends with that boy." It was an accusation, but Percy knew he hadn't seen the kiss and he was talking about something earlier.

"We are." This wasn't the time to tell him her feelings or what had just happened.

"Odd friendship you have." He paused again. "You are no longer allowed to be friends with him." At these words, Percy froze. She felt the storm that was brewing outside. Her father was angry. Waves sloshed against the dock outside, making it creak at the pressure.

"So, you choose now to be a father." She stated, calming herself and leaning against the door, away from the on slot that was about to unfold.

"Leave." He was deathly calm and his eyes had an odd, shading over them, like they weren't really his eyes. Of course, she'd only seen them when they were sea green and happy.

"Excuse me?" it probably wasn't the best thing for her to say. Triton was stiff and his aura flickered with urgency. Theseus had turned so he was watching Triton.

"If you aren't going to respect me, you can leave." He stated again.

"I'm not going to stop being friends with Luke." She growled and he glared back at her.

"No, that's why you are no longer welcome in this family." Poseidon's eyes grew darker and rain began to pound the cabin walls and ceiling. Theseus gasped softly while Triton closed his eyes, hiding his feelings. Percy knew they couldn't help her, it wasn't worth having their father get any angrier.

"Okay." She whispered, something inside her cracked and pain enveloped her chest, but she ignored it. She raced out the door and into the sleeting rain. She didn't know where she was heading until she got there and was pounding on the door. Travis Stoll opened the door, slowly at first. He frowned when he saw her appearance and was about to say something when he was pushed out of the way by a worried Hermes.

"Get in here." He hissed, pulling Percy inside. Demigods stared at her from both sides of the cabin and Hermes shoved her down the isle of bunk beds, towards a door in the back that she didn't remember being there. The hand on her back held steady as her vision tunneled slightly and she stumbled. She pushed on the door and it swung open to reveal a smaller room that held a set of bunk beds, a T.V, and two computers. The walls where painted a soft brown and a shower was running through a door to her left.

"What did you do?" he asked, softer now that they were alone. Percy shook her head, but he shook her shoulders startling her into looking at him.

"I, I went to the beach with Luke. We talked and when I got back, Theseus and Triton had tension around them. Da- Poseidon had a dark look in his eye and next thing I know-" she froze, not able to continue.

"He disowned you." Hermes began to pace, running his hand through his hair while Percy's stomach clenched.

"This is because of my friendship with Luke, I told him I wouldn't give it up." She whispered and Hermes spun around to stare at her with wide eyes. Just then, the bathroom door opened and Luke came out with an old t-shirt and boxers on. He froze when he saw Percy.

"Luke, I need you to make sure nobody leaves this cabin. Right now, you and Percy need to stay away from each other. I'll explain when I get back." Hermes grabbed her arm and a door appeared to their left. He shoved her through it, into the freezing, pouring rain and booming thunder.  
"Where are we going?" she shouted over the thunder, Hermes took a moment to shout back as he dodged a lightning bolt that shot straight down at them.

"The only one who can protect you." He cried back, they raced towards a huge cabin that signified king. Hermes banged on the door and the light flickered on. A few moments in the pouring rain later, Zeus opened with an irritated look on his face. Hermes shoved Percy in, around him and followed.

"What'd you do?" he growled, eyeing the storm through one of the windows.

"He disowned her." A cold chill swept through the cabin. Zeus tilted his head to look at his son. Hermes gestured that he'd explain later.

"You'll be safe here." He sighed, walking over to a door on the left side of the room and knocking loudly. A groan later, the door opens to reveal a tired looking Jason. Percy would've been excited to see him, but the reason why kept her down.

"Do you know the key code to the girls bunk room?" Zeus asked. Jason looked at him like he was insane.

"No." he raised an eyebrow at his father and then saw Percy standing behind him. This made him more confused.

"Right." Zeus thought about something for a second. "You guys are going to share the room." Jason stared at his father like he'd grown a third eye.

"Come on." Jason gestured for her to come in. He closed the door behind her and she turned towards him with a questioning expression.

"Thalia stores her extra hunters stuff in the girl's bunkroom, she thinks I'm going to steal it, so she locks the door with electricity." He replied to her question before asking one of his own "Why are you here?"

"My father disowned me because I was hanging out with Luke." She said it like it was no big deal, but inside she was crushed. She felt raw and uncomfortable. Jason started coughing and it took a few moments before he could form words.

"Um, okay." He walked over to his closet and pulled out an old t-shirt and a ragged pair of jeans. "This is the best I can offer you for now. You can have that bunk there," he pointed to one opposite of his, "Bathroom's through there." He pointed to another set of doors that sat on the other end of the room, across from the door she had entered through. Last time she'd been in this cabin was with Thalia, it had obviously changed dramatically since then.

"Thanks." She replied, taking the clothes and going into the bathroom to change. Her reflection in the mirror was startling to her. Her eyes where still green, but more of a forestry green instead of a sea green. Her dress no longer seemed to fit right and water dripped from her hair, creating a stringy mess. Quickly changing, she walked back out in the too bi t-shirt and jeans. Jason lay on his bed, arm covering face. She sat down on her new bunk and shivered uncontrollably. She vaguely noticed Jason sit up, but she was too busy trying to calm her nerves as they whirled around her like a typhoon.

"Want to talk about it?" his voice startled her and she turned to look at him, he was now watching her with silent, questioning eyes.

"I think that it's better just to leave it for tonight." She replied, leaning against the frame of the bunk and resting her head against the wall. Jason watched her for a few more moments before standing up and walking over to her. His eyes where dark with concern.

"You know, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to break down." He offered, sitting next to her and leaning against the wall. She let out a choked sob that was part laugh.

"I've been told that a couple of times today." She sighed, long and hard. The events of the past weeks coming down on her, hard. "Poseidon disowned me because he told me I couldn't be friends with Luke," Jason let out a short outtake of breath "And I told him no." Perc seemed to be coming to terms with the fact.

"What happens now?" Jason asked, sometimes Percy forgot he was the same age as her, sixteen.

"I don't know." Her hands hung loosely on her knees and her stomach churned again.

"Well," Jason replied after a while, stretching his arms and standing up, "I'd say you deserve some sleep." She nodded at him, pulling the blanket out from under the moderately puffy pillow and laying down. She faced the wall and Jason shut the lights off. In the darkness, she heard him lay down and soon after, begin to softly snore.

Sleep came to Percy somewhere after midnight. It wasn't peaceful though, it was filled with bloodthirsty monsters, angry titan kings, and Poseidon's words. Jason woke her up several times that night, bringing her back from Tartarus and into the real world. The numbers on the clock turning slowly as she'd try falling asleep again and again.


	21. Meeting the sisters

Chapter 20

"Percy." Jason's voice woke her from the darkness that was about to take over her, she opened her eyes and the blurry out form of him came into focus slowly. His eyes were still dark and he had circles under his eyes from staying awake most of the night. "Time to get up. Breakfast is over so it should be safe now. I went out early and got you some clothes from Pipes." She sat up, comprehending his words and nodding slowly. Faint light came in through the window and she saw that it was cloudy outside.

"Thanks." She stretched slowly, noticing that pain tinged in her stomach still. Taking the clothes he held out to her, she made her way to the bathroom. Inside, she braced herself against the toilet and threw up yellow bile. She grimaced at the taste in her mouth and rinsed out her mouth with tap water. She washed her face while she was at it, the water didn't energize her like usual and she remained tired and unclear. Lifting her shirt up, she bumped the bruises against her stomach, A slight gasp escaped her lips and she keeled over. They were black and dark brown, a few had split and dripped down her stomach. "That's not good." she mumbled to herself, noticing that her scars seemed unusually red. Quickly, she pulled off the old t-shirt and tattered jeans and pulled on the clothes Piper had leant her. A black shirt with gold swirls and dark, straight cut jeans.

"You ready?" Jason yelled through the door, she quickly pulled the hair tie out and pulled her hair back up in a simple low ponytail. She nodded at her reflection and put on her brave face.

"Yeah." she opened the door to find him leaning against the wall across from it with an orange camp half-blood t-shirt and faded blue jeans.

"Okay," he let out a deep breath he seemed to have been holding in and raised his eyebrows at her "Let's go." He led the way back through the huge cabin and down the front steps. Wind whipped her ponytail and Jason turned to look at her with a dim look.

"We need protection from godly moods." she mumbled, partly joking. He didn't smile, instead, nodded solemnly.

"Uh huh." They made their way into the dining pavilion. The gods must have set up temporary protection, because dark colored, tent like fabric completely covered the pavilion, except for a small doorway. They entered quietly, seeing as Artemis was sitting at her table with Thalia and half of Apollo's table and Apollo were still there.

"Come on." Jason mumbled, grabbing a plate and shoving it in her hand. She hovered behind him, slightly self-conscious. "Calm down, your aura is weird as it is and right now it's like-" he gestured wildly with his hands and she smiled and laughed softly. The both sacrificed food to Zeus, the fire spitting sky blue and sat down at his table, together. Both faced the door.

Artemis watched the heroes suspiciously, to her, Percy was acting odd as her aura flickered in and out of focus. She was about to stand up and confront them about their seating arrangements when her father, Lord Zeus walked into the dining pavilion with a slightly pissed off look on his face.

"Eat" was the first time he said as he sat down across from them. Percy's stomach twisted violently. She frowned. "For most demigods, the affects start after a couple of days, but for you, they'll start immediately. Being tied to your father's domain as much as you are, it won't be long before you must succumb to its affects." He said, Percy grimaced and took a bite of buttered toast. The taste was bitter in her mouth and her body immediately tried to reject it, forcing her to cough. Jason had stopped eating ad stared at his father with horror.

"What are you guys talking about?" Artemis asked, standing up and walking over to them, Thalia's gaze followed, but she didn't stand up. Zeus met Percy's eyes, but she didn't answer, instead just nodded.

"Poseidon's disownment of Persephone Jackson." Zeus replied, loudly so that Apollo, who was straining to hear from his empty table, jumped in surprise. It took a moment for both to comprehend what had been said. Artemis face went dark, as if she were thinking about something less than pleasant while Apollo's face flashed with worry.

"He can't!" it was Thalia who answered, she raced over to her cousin and sat down between her and Jason. "He doesn't have a reason." Percy's face grew dark at this point and she let out a forced laugh.

"The gods choose everything in our lives. As Luke once told me, we are just pawns in their game." She stood up and walked out of the pavilion, having only taken a bite of her food. All eyes followed her worriedly and Thalia stood up to race after her. Zeus shook his head.

"She needs time to handle this alone." He replied, "None of us are helping by shoving information on her."

Xxx

"I save the damn world twice and this is what I get?" she screamed into the sky, not really caring who heard and who didn't. Her sword slashed through tree after tree, their dead branches falling to the ground with hollow crunches. This was the part of the forest forbidden by all. It was the carnage of the second war. "What do I do!" she screamed louder this time, throwing her sword to the side and falling to the ground in front of a small stream. Dried blood lined the limestone that lined the stream and her tears dripped down onto it, sending them into the stream with a flurry of red. Her eyes closed in finality and she let out a soft sigh before lifting her head to the light that shone on her face.

"A horrible beauty, this place." The voice sent shocking shivers down her spine and she spun around to see a slight woman with short, choppy hair and bright green eyes.

"Who are you?" she growled, crouching low as her eyes flickered the surrounding brush, and her sword had yet to return to her pocket.

"I'm Benthesikyme, but most just call me Benny." She shrugged her shoulders and sat down against an old, rotting tree trunk, her nose scrunched slightly in disgust. Her dress shimmered, as if waves where continuously flowing through it.

"Are you going to kill me?" Percy asked, whispering. She'd met many siblings that had wanted her dead. A soft, trilling laugh sent ease through Persephone's body.

"No, I'm not insane." She grinned at her half-sister brightly, she seemed to be in a fourteen ear old's body. "The oceans are violent. Father is not the same." Her eyes got a distant look in them for a moment.

"What do you mean?" Percy hissed, tilting her head and moving closer to the minor god sitting before her. Benny turned to look at her with darkened eyes.

"Oceanus has been stirring." The vice behind her was deeper, masculine. Percy almost cried out in relief as she turned to Triton. He smiled and opened his arms to her and she raced into them. He hugged her tightly as she tucked her face into his shoulder. "Little sister." He whispered, before lifting his face to take a quick look at Benny. He jumped in surprise when he saw not one goddess, but two. Rhode leaned against the rotting tree with a disgusted look aimed at him. "Rhode." He growled, quickly, but gently shoving Percy behind him. Benny leapt to her feet and had a knife to her sister's throat before Triton could say anymore.

"Relax." Rhode rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to kill father's bastard child." She mumbled something else under her breath, but a quick hiss from Benny quieted her. "What!" she exclaimed, raising an eyebrow at her sister, "We have a potentially deadly war at out front step." Triton growled, but a slap to the arm quieted him as Percy stepped around his protective outstretched arm and watched her two half-sisters with an inquisitive glance.

"How dangerous is Oceanus?" Persephone approached the two goddesses with Triton close behind, protective as always.

"Dangerous doesn't come close to his power." Benny answered, turning away from her hostile sister. They stood in silence for several minutes, all of them watching each other.

"Percy!" the call came from somewhere to there right. Triton jumped about a foot into the air while Rhode disappeared into the stream with a soft splash.

'Here!" she called back, sending a regretful look towards Triton as he backed towards the pond with a sorrowful look in his eye. Benny smiled at Percy, knowingly before disappearing like her sister.

"Seph!" another voice, this one closer sounded before the sounds of crashing branches came from their left. Percy turned towards it, but when she turned to say goodbye, Triton was gone. All that was left was a sea green aura that was quickly dispersing into the forest.


	22. Effects

Chapter 21

"Never can catch a break, can you." Luke whispered as they walked back through the forest. Achilles walked ahead of them, while Odysseus walked behind them, both wore fancy, Greek armor that glowed with an unearthly tinge of godly auras. If Percy could ask why their armor shined like that, she would, but she had other things on her mind.

"Nope." She replied, popping the p loudly and making Achilles jump. The two older demigods seemed on edge as they walked through the forest, and Persephone was beginning to become antsy about the slow, methodical pace.

"Since we're walking at this slow and unreasonable pace," Luke glared at the back of Achilles head, "We should talk about last night." Persephone tilted her head to look at him for a moment before turning back to her path behind Achilles.

"No." she replied, glaring behind her at Odysseus who had stepped closer to them. Luke sighed loudly and crossed his arms across his chest. His light blue shirt was creased and wrinkled, showing that he had slept in it, which he most likely had.

"Yes." Luke eyed her warily, but still pressed her. Odysseus seemed to move closer and Percy growled a warning at him. She glared back with dark eyes at him and he shrunk backwards, but Percy knew he'd creep forward as soon as he could.

"I'll think about it." She replied, skipping ahead slightly so that she was next to Achilles. He glanced down at her with light eyes that held decades of glory and centuries of knowledge. Birds chirped around them and leaves crunched under their feet, but the green of the trees blocked any vision of the upcoming camp and withheld its sounds from them.

"Have you learned its affects yet?" he asked, slowing down so that Odysseus caught up to them and Luke dropped back with a grumble. Achilles voice cracked slightly, and Percy frowned, but didn't ask why.

"It happened last night, I haven't even had time to process it." She replied, glancing warily around the thickening trees.

"Hurry up then, we've got things to discuss and training to do." Achilles began to jog away and Percy tried to follow, but Odysseus grabbed her arm and shook his head silently.

"Disowning is different for everyone," Odysseus paused as Luke stepped up to walk on his opposite side, "it affects all demigods violently, but those of the sea is most gruesome." He scratched his top lip with his thump before continuing. "You're affects have started already, stomach clenching and not feeling hungry are just the beginning. Next comes headaches, decreased vision, and pangs in the stomach. After the first few days, the headaches will worsen, severe nosebleeds will occur and you're overall fitness will decrease." He paused, his voice growing softer, Percy could tell her was trying to control his emotions. "After a week, you'll begin throwing up blood, you won't be able to keep solid or liquid food down and you'll feel like you can't breathe. After that isn't for sure, all I know is you won't last more than two weeks. Gods have adopted others children in vain attempts to keep them alive, but it does not work, it only prolongs the affects. It might give you another week or two, but not much after that." He said it quietly, as if it weren't meant to hear. His eyes had distance in them and Luke excused himself to jog ahead.

"It's not like my death was going to be anything but painful. I was destined to die at the age of sixteen." She replied softly, wincing as she said the words. After preparing herself for death, facing it like this was almost unbearable and she snorted, catching Odysseus's attention.

"What?" he asked, and she shook her head, glaring softly at the ground and folding her hands behind her back. Her light shirt didn't give her any protection against the harsh weather and she shivered.

"Just thinking of how nice it'll be to never have to worry of death again." She replied, Odysseus placed a hand on her shoulders, stopping her.

"We'll stay with you until the end." He whispered softly, his eyes flashing with concern. Percy bit her lip and fell back a step to think.

"All the great heroes had to die, for them to be heroes." She smirked at him and he smiled softly back. It was a quote he had once said to her and Luke during training.

"Yes." he looks up at the pale sky above them, grey clouds covering the normally blue sky.

"I've learned something else. Something Luke taught me." She looked up at him for conformation to say it and he nodded for her to continue. "A hero's fate, is never anything but tragic."

"This thing about being a hero, about the main thing is to know when to die." Achilles voice came from her left and she spun to face him. He had a tear track down one side of his face, but he smiled at her as he leaned against a tree. "What have you learned from us?" he asked after a moment, Odysseus tilted his head questioningly at Achilles, but he just raised his hand and slanted his head towards Percy.

"At first, I thought I was being taught to live, but now I know I was being taught to die." She replied with a smirk, Achilles smiled brightly and walked forward, clapping Odysseus on the shoulder.

"We have succeeded, dear friend." he laughed intensely and raced back into the forest, towards camp. Percy watched him go before turning to a slightly confused Odysseus.

"We were going to ask Luke and you that when you finished training." He whispered before smiling brightly at her. "Now, you're finished."


	23. Champion

Chapter 22

Persephone searched for Luke hopelessly. After several hours, she claimed defeat and left camp for the hospital of the gods. She rode silently in the camp's van with Argus, her legs crossed as she stared quietly out the window at the ever changing landscape. It wasn't long before they reached the Empire State Building and Percy was riding up the elevator, still in silence. Olympus would again be her home, but now it'd be a limited amount of time. For a few moments, she let peace resound around her, before the door dinged open and the lights, sights, and sounds of Olympus greeted her happily. Persephone couldn't help but smile as she made her way towards Apollo's temple, which he'd nicknamed hospital of the gods. The journey was slow as she made her way through the crowded streets. At one point, she saw Zeus watching her from a food stand, but she ignored him and went on her way.

"Finally!" this was what greeted her as she pushed through the doors, into the glamourous temple. Artemis and Hestia sat on one of the couches as Apollo leapt from a chair across from them and darted towards her like he was on steroids.

"I've already been read the affects, so we can skip that." She replied, smirking as he stopped in his tracks in front of her with a confused look "Odysseus." She answered the questioning look.

"He ruined all the fun!" Apollo proclaimed, pouting. His face stayed like that for a few moments before Artemis rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, breaking him from his trance.

"I've decided to do an experiment with you." Apollo got a dark light in his eyes as he circled her for a few moments. Percy tilted her head questioningly and eyed Artemis.

"That sounds fun." She replied, rolling her eyes to move out of his circle and over to an empty chair. Its plush seat welcomed her, but she sat on the arm warily.

"Yes!" Apollo almost squealed in delight "Instead of you being adopted, you'll become two gods' champions."

"Will that help any?" she asked suspiciously, champions where almost like children, so she didn't see the difference.

"Most likely not, but it's worth a try." Artemis answered as Apollo danced in circles, happy about his idea.

"I'll do it." She shrugged her shoulders carelessly and Apollo grabbed her arm and pulled her into one of the adjoining rooms.

"Let us start." He got a proud grin on his face and a wide look in his eye as Hestia walked into the room with Zeus following quickly. "Hestia will go first, then Zeus."

"Wait! What?" Persephone's mouth hung open as she stared at her uncle. His deep, knowing eyes twinkled with laughter, the first time she'd ever seen them less than serious. Apollo stepped forward, blocking her sight, but the image of those eyes, so like Jason and Thalia's stuck with her as she fell into a deep trance.

Xxx

Waking up resulted in a pounding headache for Percy. She tried to open her eyes, but the light hit them full blast and she threw her arm over her face, rolling over on her side and groaning. A soft laugh broke the silent air and she froze momentarily, not knowing who it was. Her brain raced, but she was unable to come up with a conclusion to who it might be. It sounded feminine, but she wasn't sure.

"I was put on watch duty." The voice was defiantly feminine and she opened her eyes to see bright green eyes staring back. Benny's face was less than a foot from hers and she had a childlike smile on her face. She's aged around twelve, so the look isn't so odd looking, especially after Percy's gotten to know a few of the irresponsible gods.

"Why'd they trust you?" she groaned out, hissing slightly at the pain in her head and sitting up against the backboard of the hospital bed. She was in Apollo's temple that much she could tell.

"You've been out for days!" Bentheskeme exclaimed, nodding her head like she was agreeing with herself. "Apollo's been worried he put you in a permanent coma."

"Days?" This thought sent others racing through her head and she remembered what Odysseus had said headaches were one of the first effects was headaches. Benny ages herself to what looks to be an eighteen year old. If there'd been a mirror in the room, looking in it would have resulted in two girls that looked almost the same. Benny had long, straight, black hair though. A slight contrary to Persephone's dark brown, slightly curly hair that flowed like waves down her back.

"Yes." Benny turns to her, now having a serious expression etched across her beautiful face. "Listen carefully," she brings her face close to Percy's "You are a princess of the sea. In being that, having the powers of Zeus and Hestia, two rivaling powers, will weaken you now that you are not anchored. You mustn't use them." Her eyes grow dark with worry, but her face has an expression that declares her not to be messed with. Persephone has to remind herself that Benny is a goddess, much older than how she looks and acts.

'Why?" she's almost afraid to ask, but Bentheskeme smiles softly at her and shakes her head. The sounds of footsteps reach their ears and Benny steps away, pushing Percy into lying position so it looks like she has just woken.

"Close your eyes." She whispers, and Percy does. The enchanting smile of her sister being the last thing she sees as darkness overtakes her for the second time.

Xxx

"Children of the sea are strong." this was the first thing she heard as she began to regain her senses. The sounds of paper hitting the floor was heard next and she flinched slightly at the anger that seemed to ring through the air.

"Yes, well she's not a child of the sea anymore, is she?" This time, it was Apollo's voice and by the sounds of it, he was very upset. Angry being a better word.

"No! That is the point, she was not strong enough for this!" now the voice is recognizably Triton's. He seems as angry as Apollo. Percy opens her eyes. It's dark outside, the moon shining high above them, the stars glinting like little, deadly daggers ready to pierce her.

"Calm down, fighting will not be of any help." Now the voice of Athena as she tries desperately to be a voice of reason, but not knowing where she stands in the fight.

"And what would you know of that," spits Triton "All you've ever done is fight with my father." Percy sits up and quickly realizes that the sounds are not coming from the room she lies in, they're coming from down the hall, most likely in Apollo's office. She swings her feet over the edge of her bed, she's wearing ankle leant nightgown that's made of thin material. She shivers involuntarily and wraps a blanket from the edge of her bed around her shoulders before standing up. A wave of dizziness overtakes her momentarily, but she's able to make her way to the door before she has to stop. Stomach churning violently, she closes her eyes and holds onto the doorframe until in subsides, leaving her able to see clearly. The halls are dark, but one room is lit. The light of Apollo's office shines brightly and shadows of three humans can be seen, one of which is pacing madly. Before any more comments could be said, she stepped into the light of the doorway.

"No fighting." She whispered, startling the occupants of the room. They spun to face her, Apollo's hair was unkempt, Athena held a stack of papers a foot tall, and Triton looked like he still wore the clothes she had last seen him in.

"You're awake!" Apollo's face brightened and the tension in the room dropped quickly. Triton's originally tight and anxious face relaxed into an easy grin as he leaned against the wall nearest to him while Athena set down her large load to smile. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." She lied, ignoring the voice in her head that told her it was no use lying. She didn't want any more worry over her. There was a war about to begin.

"Lier." Apollo frowned and picked up an opaque, sky blue clipboard. He ushered her out into the dark hallway and back to her room.

"My ADHD isn't going to allow you to keep me here more than an hour." She stated, hoping that it wasn't too obvious that she did not want to be here. It was a hospital, who would?

"Nice try." His face was grim as he switched on the light and flicked his hand in the general direction of the bed. Percy growled in frustration as energy buzzed through her body, but sat anyways. "What hurts?" he had his pen at the ready, posed to write every little detail she said.

"Head mostly. Standing up makes me extremely dizzy and I felt like I was going to throw up." Percy stated as nonchalantly as possible. To Apollo's credit, he wrote done all of what she'd said and more.

"Any tiredness?" he eyed her before writing more information down.

"A little, which is odd because I'm absolutely buzzing with energy." This statement made Apollo frown and he sighed in a defeated sort of way.

"That'd be your body wanting to test the new powers. You can try, if you want." He motioned for her to do something, and she was about to when she remembered Benny talking to her.

"Not now." Ignoring the odd look he gave her, she awkwardly hopped over to the window and looked out to see the streets buzzing with activity. "It's the middle of the night!" she exclaimed softly, but it didn't really shock her, not after having grown up in the city that never sleeps.

"Yes, but gods do not need as much sleep as mortals." Apollo flipped through several pages filled with writing before throwing the clipboard on the bed and sighing. "I bet you're hungry." He stated, smiling as he snapped his fingers. A clean grey t-shirt and blue sweatshirt appeared along with a pair of black sweatpants. "Get dressed." He walked out, shutting the door behind him. She stared at the door momentarily before throwing the hospital-like gown off and pulling the clothes on. Being alive with energy, she jogged out of her room, flipping the light off quickly. Triton stood by the door with his hands in his pockets while Apollo hummed a merry tune, reading some doctrine book on neurological diseases. The two were like opposites, Triton seemed exhausted, having aged several years. He now looked closer to their father's age.

"Come on, let's get some food." Triton muttered, his face dark. Persephone didn't know what was wrong, but she followed anyways. He led her down the steps and into the partying streets of Olympus. If possible, his scowl deepened as he hurried towards Zeus's temple.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, gently pulling him to the side. Triton looked down at her tiredly and ran his hand through his dark, tangled hair.

"Father has limited my powers, I can't touch the sea right now." He mumbled, Persephone gasped and darted forward to hug her brother.

"I'm sorry!" she yelped, burying her face in his shoulder. He hugged her back, but let go just as quickly.

"Tomorrow you're going to visit Persephone in the underworld." He smirked at her as she gaped at him.

"Why?"

"It seems that she was waiting until you turned godly to talk with you, but now that that'll never happen, she's been begging to meet you." He paused and Percy didn't get the catch as she cocked her head to look up at him. "You can't go by godly travel, it's much too dangerous in your state. Chiron has sent Anthony Chase to go with you." Now Percy was openly gaping up at him.

"No!" she yelled, luckily not drawing attention because of the loud crowds.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, for once, his eyes looked broken as he pulled her into another quick hug. "Let's go get some food." They're mood dampened, they made their way back into the crowd and onto their original path towards the great palace.

**Not a lot to this chapter, but it was needed.**


	24. Anthony's Arrogance

Chapter 23

**PLEASE READ!**

**A few quick things;**

**iswim: As I said earlier, I grammar and spellcheck everything myself. Thank you for pointing it out so I could fix it!**

**Dogbisquit1967: I highly doubt this is one of the top five, but thank you for thinking so.**

**To everyone: Thank you so much for sticking with me through this entirely boring story. I quit writing for a while and this is what brought me back into it. I've never been that good, so thank you for staying with me through it. I'd have never continued without your support. I'm not entirely sure where this story is going, as ideas just randomly come to me at all different hours. If you have an idea that you'd like to see in this story, tell me. I'll see if it works with my 'plan'. I know the chapters are short, but that's all I've had time for. I might do longer chapters now that I'm out of school, but I also like having the shortness. **

**Also, if you're the type of reader that likes books about the holocaust or World War 2, there is a really good fiction book out there called ****When the Nightingale Sings ****by John Ashton Williams. He superbly puts together the story in ways that draw you in and leave you gasping about what's to come. I've never been interested in the 'history' type books, but I decided to give it a whirl and I was NOT disappointed. The book is $2.99 on amazon and it is well worth it (in my opinion). I think most people would be drawn away from it by its description, but the description holds NOTHING to the wonderfulness of this book. **

To say Persephone was happy would be like telling someone that Lord Zeus is happy when it storms. She glowered at the approaching demigod, her eyes almost black. On top of the blonde haired douche coming towards her, she had to deal with an overhanging headache that made her vision extremely funky.

"Percy." He smirked, as if she'd been the one to come to him. Percy rolled her eyes and passed him, twirling her pen a few times warningly before slipping it into her pocket. Anthony followed closely, too closely for Persephone's liking and she took a step away. They were only walking six blocks to a short ally that held a secret entrance to the underworld. Why she couldn't go herself, she wasn't sure. The walked in silence, but Percy felt something impending in the way Anthony walked, it made her nervous and she sped ahead a little to get to the entrance faster.

This must've been what Anthony had been waiting for, because he pulled her into a nearby ally, its dark, dankness left her trembling slightly and she reached for riptide.

"Nope." Before she knew it, his knife was to her throat and his face was less than an inch from hers. "It's funny really," he sneered at her and held her arms above her head, trapping her against the wall. "Nobody'll ever fall in love with you." His sneer widened and she tried to kick him, but the position they were in trapped her. "I'm giving you one last chance, be with me or lose." He whispered dangerously. Percy closed her eyes and gulped, having grown still once she realized his knife was against the artery in her arm.

"I'd never," she ever got the rest out, a hand to the gut thrust her forward, and he kicked her legs out from under her. Past memories flashed in front of her and she gasped more in surprise then hurt, those memories gave him a deadly advantage though, a kick to the rib cage knocked the breath out of her and she sucked in painfully, another kick, this time to the head left her seeing red spots and she barely heard the footsteps pounding towards her '_please be help.' _She prayed, a long scuffle later, a gentle hand was laid on her shoulder.

"Persephone." She almost sobbed in relief when she heard her uncle's voice. No matter how dark he seemed at times, he did care. Hades kneeled next to her and she sat up, shaking her head to try to relieve the pounding. "Come on." He helped her to her feet. That was when she noticed the blood. It was everywhere.

"Your friend went a little crazy." Hades chuckled to himself "Zeus had to drag him out of here." Percy frowned, but didn't say anything. Wetness under nose made her lift her hand to her face and when she drew back, it was bloody.

"Great." She whispered softly, yet sarcastically. Just what she needed, another visit to Apollo.

"I've never seen you freeze up like that. Aphrodite made us watch all your past battles, you should've had him on the ground in less than a second." It wasn't a statement, it was a demanding question

"It doesn't happen often." She hissed defensively. Hades nodded his head like he was agreeing, but his eyes told her she'd be asked about it later.

"No." he sighed dramatically as Zeus came walking towards them through the crowded New York streets. "You won't be going to the underworld today." He shook his head sadly at the thought of again being tormented by his wife.

"What happened?" Zeus demanded the minute he reached them. His eyes where a burning blue and Percy flinched. Hades gave him a warning look that luckily got through to the sometimes dim witted god.

"I don't know." Her voice soft, she looked up at both her uncles with pleading eyes. For them to just drop the subject. Luckily, they did.

"Well then." Zeus said, eyeing the busy streets with distaste. "We better get you back to Olympus." He rolled his eyes at his older brother who huffed in discontent before melting away into the shadows.

"Back to jail." Persephone muttered under her breath, partially joking. Her uncle rolled his eyes as he walked through the throngs of people. She quickly followed and they made their way back two blocks to the empire state building and into the elevator.

"You know," Zeus started as they leaned against the elevator walls "Athena was working on a house for you. It was after the second war, right before you came to live on Olympus."

"Yes?" she questioned, waiting for the point where he told her the catch.

"We were going to give it to you for your eighteenth birthday," he paused again "Would you like to go see it?" he asked. Percy looked around the elevator for a minute before replying.

"I would, but I don't think I can ride in this elevator one more time today." Zeus full out laughed when she said this and she smiled in return.

"How about by pegasus." He asked and Percy smiled.

"That sounds more like it." She replied as the doors dinged open and the happy sounds of Olympus greeted them.

"Good. I'll find Triton and see if he wants to come and you can meet us in the throne room after you visit Apollo." He replied. They walked through the streets silently, listening to the laughter. When they reached the sun god's temple, she waved goodbye and pretended to head up the stairs, but the minute he turned his back, she jumped over the railing and took off through the ally between temples towards one of the gardens.

Immersed in the colors and sights, she walked down a rosy lane that held all sorts if roses, even those she'd never seen before. A snake slithered past her foot and she spoke a quick hello like she would if it where George or Martha. A lilac crabapple tree came into view with a rustic looking bench beneath it. The bench overlooked a small pond that seemed to be frog galore. Gently scooting them out of the way, she took the water and rinsed the blood off her face. Her nose was tender to touch and she had a small cut on her upper lip. The water didn't greet her like it did when she was a daughter of Poseidon and she felt a momentary singe of sadness as she swirled the water with her finger, sending little tadpoles darting away frantically. Sighing, she stood and brushed her pants off before turning to the bench. It looked moderately safe and she decided to take her chances and sat down. She had only been there a moment when the tree behind her rustled and a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who." The air from the words rushed by her ear and she shivered. Taking hold of the hands, she turned to smile at the blonde boy who leapt the seat and sat down with a _thunk. _An easy smile adorned his face, but to anybody else it would've looked like a vicious smirk with the scar that ran along the side of his face.

"Luke." She grinned as his blue eyes glittered. His shirt had a bloodstain on it, and she was brought back to when Hades was speaking to her. "You followed us, didn't you?" she questioned lightly, and he frowned.

"I needed to be sure you'd be safe." He looked at her, as if asking for forgiveness and she leaned forward to hug him.

"Thank you." She whispered, turning so the hug was more one armed and her head la on his shoulder.

"I thought you were dead, when I first saw you." His eyes darken and she realized something she had been missing all along.

"Zeus and Hestia became my patrons." He looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs.

"They told me. When dad came to get me, I thought you were dead. He was so somber." He leaned back, still not looking up at her. His voice was slightly emotional and she leaned into his shoulder, wrapping both arms around him.

"I'd never leave without saying goodbye." She smiled up at him and a gentle smile adorned his lips as he looked back at her with brighter blue eyes.

"I have a question that I've been meaning to ask you," he paused and took a deep breath, "I don't know if this is the right time and I don't want to lose you as my friend, but," his face grew suddenly concerned as he paused and looked out at the pond.

"Luke," she pulled his chin towards her so he was looking at her once again "What?" A moment's silence followed, then

"Would you give me the honor of being my girlfriend?"


	25. You and I

Chapter 24-You and I

To say Persephone Jackson was shocked would be the least of it. She stared at Luke for so long that he began to twitch uncomfortably.

"Yes!" She yelled, wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt him chuckle at first and she began to giggle. Soon, a full on laughing spree came upon them. It felt good to be happy.

"I was so scared you'd say no!" his eyes shone brightly, brighter than she'd ever seen them and she grinned up at him.

"I thought you'd never ask!" she wrapped her arms ask around his waist and he hugged her to him, resting his chin on her head. Several minutes passed, but Percy finally pulled away, biting her lip.

"What?" Luke asked, tilting his head like a puppy.

"The gods built me a house and they're taking me to see it today," she paused "Want to come?"

"A house?" he stood up when she did, but his face remained incredulous. His eyebrows were brought together in a slight frown.

"Yep." She grabbed his hand, skipping away from him. He had to jog to keep up. Luke rolled his eyes as they jogged side by side, Percy skipping a step every once and a while.

It didn't take long for the two demigods to make their way back to the ally between temples and out onto the streets. Percy slipped her hand from Luke's. She thought it best if it was kept between the two of them since a lot had happened in the last few hours.

Approaching the throne room was like watching a movie in slow motion. The building came slowly, then all the sudden was huge.

"Hey." Luke's voice brought her to a stop just between the two sets of stares. Turning to look at him, he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer.

"What do we tell them?" although she had subconsciously come up with her decision, she decided it best to still ask.

"Nothing. We've been told to stay separate." His eyes drilled into her, as if trying to convince her of what she already knew.

"But, we're approaching together." she tilted her head questioning to him, and he let out a short burst of laughter.

"We shouldn't push our luck. Come." He pulled her up the second flight of stairs. Hundreds of steps soon had flown by and she felt her hand slipping from Luke's once again. He dropped it gently before nodding at her. Together, they shoved the throne room doors open.

'Blackjack!" the screech took all the gods by surprise as a flash of black hair rushed by them and a petite girl enveloped the pegasus in a hug. "I've missed you." She crooned. His black ears flickered back and forth and he had an excited look in his eye. Stepping back, Percy eyed him cautiously for a moment before breaking out into a grin. "I love you, I love you, I love you!" Luke rolled his eyes as he easily approached, his father watching him reproachfully.

"Say it again, I don't think he got the message." As he said it, Percy turned to him with a glare.

"Are you jealous?" the smirk on her face said it all, luckily the gods were oblivious. Watching the conversation, but not really hearing it. Luke tilted his head, as if thinking, and smirked back.

"Nope." He watched her interact with the pegasus with an almost fascination. Even though she could not hear what Blackjack said, she still held conversations with him. Obviously, the gods were intrigued too.

"Persephone; how do understand that pegasus?" Hestia questioned, watching the girl as she hugged her friend. Percy laughed and shook her head at Blackjack before replying.

"In battle, I learned to read Blackjack's expressions. It was very helpful when the chaos of battle prevented us from speaking." She kissed Blackjack's velvet nose and turned expectantly towards the gods.

"Why would you be prevented from speaking?" Zeus asked, turning towards her.

"War is an in-just obstacle that takes a brave mind to overcome. For me to even think of overcoming it, I had to focus most of my energy on one object and talking wasn't it." She knew what she was talking about, but nobody else knew. Not even Luke. They gave her curious looks, but let it go.

'Let us be going." Zeus motioned for everyone to move and most of the gods flashed out, leaving only Luke, Persephone, and Hestia in the room. Hestia smiled kindly as Percy and gestured to the red roan pegasus standing next to her, partially asleep.

"I think I'll take this one, if you don't mind." She smiled warmly and leapt upon the small pegasus, his petite form like hers. Hestia's hair matched his color almost perfectly and Persephone watched the two take off into the afternoon light.

"Come on!" Luke called, Percy turned back with a slight smile as Luke's pegasus, a dark bay, galloped out of the window and fell several feet before flapping its wings to regain balance. From behind her, a gentle nose bumped her shoulder and she turned to see Blackjack's soft yes staring into hers.

"Shall we fly?" she paused and leapt up onto his back, leaning down to whisper into his ear "You and I?"


	26. Vim

Chapter 25- Vim

Trees upon trees upon trees. That was all she saw for the longest time. Then, suddenly from around the bend of a large hill, almost a mountain, came her first sight of it. The most beautiful place she had ever seen. As Blackjack landed upon the charcoal cobblestone, she gasped softly at the beauty that was unfolding around her. A large fountain stood in the middle of the courtyard, blue tinted water spurting out of a leaping dolphin's mouth. Persephone slid off Blackjack and walked around the fountain to see the front of her very own house.

A short flight of fifteen stairs led up to tinted glass French doors. Two sculptures of pegasi in battle outfit guarded the doors, their wings uplifted and their heads collected in beautiful arches.

"The gods wish for you to explore on your own." Luke's voice came from behind her and she turned to see him sitting on the edge of the fountain, smiling easily at her.

"Then why are you here?" she asked, coyly.

"I don't like following rules." He jumped up and walked up to her, extending his arm and bowing slightly. "Would you allow me to show you around, my lady?"

"Of course, kind sir." She replied back, laughing as he tugged her up the steps and through the French doors.

Inside was even more beautiful. In front of them stood Beauty and the Beast style ballroom staircase, with arched skylights above them and Greek fire burning torches lit softly upon the walls. Percy wanted to leap up the steps, but Luke pulled her across the opening room to another door, this one engraved with a most handsome buck, his antlered head looking at her as if he were alive. She traced him slightly with her fingers, afraid that she'd ruin the carvings.

"Through this door, is the kitchen." Luke pushed the door open, into a rustic style kitchen that held a huge arched glassless window that held a small, half door, which led out into a small garden surrounded by stone walls. Vines climbed them and the sun shone brightly down as she leaned out.

"Come!" Luke called from another doorway after she'd explored all the cupboards and stroked the white granite countertops. She followed him through the doorway and down a small flight of steps into a dreamy looking, smaller sized living room with windows at the top of the room shining light down into the arched room. A few rounded couches circled a footstool, their color matching the soft sandstone walls. An antique sewing machine sat in a small alcove in the room and on the other side stood a small, saltwater pond with fish swimming around inside.

"How do you know your way around?" she frowned, her eyebrows slanting downwards, her head tilted ever so slightly to the left. Luke stared at the fish for a second with a slight grin on his face before shaking his head.

"My father brought me about a week ago when they were putting the finishing touches on the barn, he showed me around." He shrugged as if it was no big deal, thinking she'd be upset with him for pretending he didn't know what she had been talking about.

"There's a barn?" she jumped up from where she had been sitting on the couch and raced over to him, childlike joy on her face.

"Yeah, along with a pasture and some fine looking horses." He took her hand and led her around a short corner in the room to another set of French doors, these had a Dark red, mahogany look to it and old, gold doorknobs. He pushed through the small doorway to a large, side garden that led into a beautiful greenery covered overhand that held a short, small gate.

"This is the entrance, there's an Avery to the East and the pastures are to the South. North and West are the ocean and civilization."

"Awesome." She replied quietly as they entered a large pole barn. An arena was built into the middle with several different entrances. Two stalls where on one side and grooming stalls on the other. A small tack room stood between the grooming stalls, but Percy was more interested in the one horse that stood in a stall to her left.

"Who're you?" she whispered quietly, moving slowly up to the bars of the stall and peering in. A small, sorrel gelding stood with his head low to the ground. His nostrils grazing the sawdust as he breathed softly.

"That is Vim. He's a four year old with little to no background. Triton wasn't going to get him, but I guess Benny liked him."

"Vim?" she questioned, turning to look at Luke.

"Yeah, like energy, or life, or Zing." He paused and shrugged "He's got what you call spirit."

"I like the sound of that." She smiled softly to herself "What breed?" she asked, turning to look at Luke.

"I believe he's a Quarter Horse." Percy nodded as he said this and slid the stall door open, it creaked softly, but slid open nicely.

"Come here, Vim" she held out a hand the horse turned slowly to sniff it, his nostrils flared and he had 'crazy eyes'.

"He's got wall eyes." She murmured. It was a common myth that when a horse had wall eyes, it was crazy. The horse obviously wasn't so. "I love him." She stepped aside and the horse stepped out next to here, pulling ahead to look into the arena where soft dirt lay like soft duvets.

"Come along now." She called, walking over to a gate and opening it for the young sorrel. He watched her with 'wild' eyes for a moment before trotting over to her and eyeing the arena cautiously. "I'll come with." She promised, grabbing hold of his mane and swinging up. He jumped slightly at the sudden weight on his back, but quickly calmed and walked ahead into the soft arena. He snorted several times and eyed the place as he circled the arena a couple of times before Percy pushed him into a gentle canter.

"He's fast and rough, but nice." She called over to Luke who had taken up sitting on the gate, watching her.

"That's good, right?" he called and Persephone laughed. The trill racing across the arena in the fresh light.

"Not really, but it's the personality that counts." She had to focus then, because Vim threw in several bucks and a half-rear as he realized the freedom he had. He slowed to a quick trot and Persephone posted for a few moments before asking him to walk. His sides came out quickly as he breathed and she slid off him to stroke his cheek.

"You're a sweet thing, aren't you?" she murmured, leaning against him, as if reaching for any sort of connection she could make.

"I see you've made friends." A deep voice echoed throughout the arena and Percy looked up to see Luke. Only it wasn't Luke anymore.


	27. Plans

Chapter 26-Plans

**I'm sorry for the Chapter 24 and 25 mess up. I have fixed it and I hope you'll go back and read them again. Thank you for letting me know!**

"Kronos." She hissed angrily. Fear couldn't be shown at a time like this. Vim took of across the arena, but was quickly frozen in place, mid gallop, his hooves extended into the air.

"Princess of the Sea," he paused to smile "No more." He laughed as she struggled against the opaque clouds that swam over her mind.

"What do you want?" she growled, glaring fiercely as he circled her as a cat circles its prey.

"Good question. I want something I cannot have as of now. My plans are falling into place nicely and I have all the time I need." He smirked at her, his golden aura surrounding him with power.

"Your plans?" if she could, she would've tilted her head, but she could only move her facial features.

"Yes. My plans for you." He stood in front of her, looking down with glowing eyes. She knew now why he was king of the titans. Never before had she seen an immortal with such sheer strength. "When all this is over, I'll be able to have whatever it is that I want. I want to break you. A simple, disownment won't do that." He shook his head softly to himself.

"What do you have in mind?" she figured it was best to know now.

"Persephone, all in due time, dear. I'm already building my facilities. I know now that torture doesn't break you, but what about watching it happen to your friends. Your family." He raised an eyebrow at her, Luke's scar running savagely down the side of his face.

"What do you mean?" she growled, softer this time. She broke free of a few of the bonds, but only enough to twist a finger.

"Your fatal flaw, it'll kill you to see what I have in mind for them. Maybe not right away. No, it'll be slow and agonizing for you. To see my plans fall into place and have no way to stop them." He shifted so his face was close to hers, his breath blowing her hair softly. "And I'll laugh. Oh, how I'll enjoy watching. Dear girl, without your father's power, you. You are nothing."

"I'll adjust." Speaking calmly, she looked into the eyes of Kronos. Closer up, she could see that the gold was actually made of small circles. Circular clocks that ticked timelessly.

"We'll see." With that, his aura flickered and whirled up into the air, swirling around her for a moment, the words echoed in her head as the gold slowly dispersed. Luke fell forwards, his body slack as he hit the ground heavily. A thin trail of blood ran from his nose as she kneeled next to him.

"Luke!" she called, trying to wake him from his stupor. The blonde boy did not answer. "Apollo!" she cried out, hoping that the medicine god would hear her, no matter the distance. Placing Luke's head in her lap, she wiped the blood from his nose, but more flowed.

"What happened?" Apollo's voice broke into her thoughts several seconds later as he knelt beside her.

"Kronos." She whispered, pushing herself back and away from thee god and demigod. Apollo's gaze followed her momentarily, but she steeled herself away and went towards Vim. The young sorrel walked her way, a little startled at what the titan lord had done. She whispered softly to him and watched out of the corner of her eye as several more gods rushed in. Hermes knelt beside his son while Zeus's gaze fell on her. She turned away, leaning into the small, sturdy gelding for support. Heart racing, she breathed slowly, trying to calm it.

"Come on." She wrapped an arm around Vim's head and gently tugged him along with her towards the gate. Through the reflection in Vim's eyes, she saw Hermes disappear with Luke and Apollo follow shortly after. A tear fell from her eye, but not out of sadness for herself. She let her mind settle before blocking the image of Luke from her mind and led her horse to his stall. She stroked his neck and shoulders, massaging them to release the tension that had built. She heard a figure approach, but didn't turn towards them. They hadn't approached as an enemy would.

Eventually she had to face what had happened, and with a steely sigh, braced herself for questions. She turned and left Vim's stall, closing the door tight behind her and making sure the latch clicked to a close.

"Hey." The soft voice didn't echo about the barn. Percy turned and smiled at her cousin. Thalia leaned against the stall and peered at her, as if seeing her for the first time.

"Hey." Percy replied tiredly. She looked at Vim through the doorway to make sure he was okay, before walking towards Zeus's daughter.

"Luke's going to be fine. He's resting in the living room. Dad's upset, but that's to expectable when the lord of time threatens." She shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal.

"Understandable." Percy walked with her towards the barn entrance. Thalia walked quietly, her head down for a few moments before looking at her.

"Why is it that you can be so strong after everything that has happened?" Thalia's eyes held hers for a moment before Percy looked away.

"You take it a day at a time. It's kind of like the sea. The ocean bends to the will of others, but never fully submits." She spoke with clarity, and her eyes brightened at the mention of water.

"I never thought of it that way." Thalia replied, nodding her head as if agreeing.

"Kronos said that all of this was in his plan," Percy paused to suck in a breath "What if he has someone controlling Poseidon?" she questioned her judgment of the situation, but at the sight of Thalia's realization, she felt as if she were not alone in this thinking.

"We need to talk to my father." She raced ahead and Percy followed quickly.


	28. Waiting

Chapter 27- Waiting

"It's worth looking into." Zeus rubbed his chin thoughtfully before turning towards the doorway to make sure nobody was listening. "We should keep this on the down low until we know for sure." He had a hopeful look in his eyes though and Thalia and Percy smiled at each other.

"Of course. When will you look into it?" Thalia asked excitedly, Percy nodded in agreement. The god of the skies looked thoughtful once more and they waited for an answer eagerly.

"Now." With a flash of lightning, the Olympian disappeared from the room just as Achilles came trotting in.

"You girls seem awfully cheerful. Want to explain?" he asked, standing in front of the two demigoddesses.

"Nope." They said it at the same time and Thalia leapt up to follow the stairs down to the kitchen while Achilles sat in a dark blue chair across from Percy's bed. For several minutes, it was quiet before Achilles finally asked a question.

"How you feeling?" he asked, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees. His dark hair was slicked back and it looked as he had let it grow out more than usual.

"Pretty good for what just happened." She crossed her legs on the bed and folded her hands in her lap. After a moment, she spoke again "I think Kronos is coming back to power. He's stronger than last time." She looked down at her hands and Achilles ran his hand through his hair.

"If he does, then we'll be ready." She looked up and saw a tired look in Achilles eyes. They were dark and full of mirth though. He really did look fit to be guardian of the Styx.

"You guys are staying?" she asked. Achilles nodded slowly and looked down, rubbing his hands together.

"We talked it through and believe it's best if we stay. We haven' talked to Luke yet. I don't think he'll be staying." It was unspoken, but Achilles meant that he'd follow her back to the underworld.

"I'm ready for peace." She stretched her arms out and glanced out her balcony window towards the ocean. Its twisted waters looked uninviting and she was brought back to what Kronos had said.

"I know what that feels like. After this war, everyone is going to need a break." He stood up and she followed. They walked out into the hallway and down the grand stairway. "I think the gods are going to want to bring you back, but it's up to you."

"I don't know right now. Most of the time, the decision is clear, but I have a lot of friends in both places. I think my fatal flaw will end up choosing for me."

"You speak of your fatal flaw as if it is nothing. Most do not know what theirs is." He questioned. Percy let out a burst of air.

"Anthony liked to remind me a lot. I guess I've just gotten used to it being used." She shrugged as they walked into the kitchen. Thalia sat at the table with Artemis. It looked like they were reviewing a list of supplies they needed. It was long and full of scribbles and crossed out portions.

"Is Luke awake?" Achilles asked, Artemis looked up in surprise while Thalia answered.

"Barely." They both went back to the long list and Achilles led through the door and down the narrow, circular steps.

Odysseus sat on a chair while Theseus sat on its armrest. Both were partway between dreamland and wake, but woke when the two walked in.  
"Hey! Want to explain what happened?" Theseus asked, motioning to Luke who lay on the couch with his arm thrown over his eyes.

"Nope. If you want to know you can ask him when he's fully coherent." She replied, she tapped one of Luke's legs and he lifted them up just enough so she could sit down.

"He's awake?" Theseus's wide eyes watched Luke for a moment, but when he didn't see any more movement, he frowned.

"Sort of. More like he's trying to fall asleep." Persephone replied, leaning back and closing her eyes tiredly.

"Looks like you are too." Odysseus countered, he had a book in his hands and he flipped through the pages aimlessly.

"What are you reading?" Percy asked, opening her eyes enough to look at the book.

"Some neuroscience book that Apollo lent me." He replied, skimming a few more pages before slamming it closed. Luke jumped to sitting position in surprise, half awake and searching for his sword.

"Hey! Welcome back to the living!" Theseus greeted and Luke glared at him before lying back down.

"What happened? I have this tremendous headache." He groaned, closing his eyes and breathing deeply.  
"Kronos decided to use you again." Achilles answered, leaping up to sit behind Luke's head.

"What!" Luke yelled, surprised. Percy jumped as his leg shot out and narrowly missed her.

'Whoa! Watch what you're doing." She yelled back, pulling herself so she sat on the back of the sofa with Achilles.

"Sorry," he turned back to Achilles and stared at him questioningly.

"It seems that the titan lord wanted a word with Perc." Achilles spoke nonchalantly while Odysseus leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes and Theseus leaned forward eagerly.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Luke looked to Percy for conformation.

"Nope. Just wanted to scare me. Told me some interesting things though. Some stuff he probably shouldn't have mentioned as it'll most likely be used against him now." Tilted her head slightly and ran her hands together.

"He's growing arrogant." Luke mentioned, mostly to himself. Odysseus opened one eye to look at him while Achilles nodded slowly.

"H's got a lot of power though, and that's not a good thing." Odysseus mentioned, looking at Achilles pointedly. Achilles sighed and hopped down from the back of the couch, beckoning to Luke with his hand.

'Come on, I've got to talk to you." Luke stood up slowly and followed after glancing at Percy. She nodded as if giving permission. '

As the two left, Thalia came trotting down the steps with a pointed look on her face. She glared at the boys in the room and turned to Persephone.

'Dad's back with news." She swept around and went back up the stairs while Percy followed slowly.


	29. He's back!

Chapter 28-He's back!

Thalia and Persephone sat in front of the king of gods at the kitchen table. He hadn't said anything yet and they were beginning to become antsy.

"Poseidon," he paused momentarily and Percy wanted to cry out _What!_ but she didn't. "Was possessed. Apollo is with him at his temple. He knows what he did, but wasn't in control. It's a matter of time before he wakes up." He paused again and rubbed his face "Hestia is talking to Amphitrite while Hermes tells your siblings." He looked at Persephone as he said this, but she didn't answer. She couldn't answer. Did this mean the whole disownment could be turned around?

"I'm going to talk to Apollo this afternoon when your father wakes. We'll discuss it and talk with you tomorrow morning." Percy was listening, but she didn't answer, just stared at the table in surprise.

"Thank you Dad." Thalia hugged him and tugged softly on Percy's arm, she followed, throwing a quick thank you over her shoulder only to see that the god was gone. Thalia pulled Persephone up the stairs and into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Where are we going?" Persephone hissed as Thalia dragged her along, up the stairs.

"You're going to take a shower than go to bed." Thalia answered back and Percy froze in her tracks.

"It's early though!" she protested even though her body agreed with her cousin.

"Yes, but I say that I'm older and I get to tell you when it's time for bed." Thalia let static electricity bounce from hand to hand as she glared at her cousin. Waiting for her to argue.

"Fine." She paused and rolled her eyes "This won't work for you after tonight." Percy grumbled as Thalia turned and continued up the stairs with expectations for Persephone to follow. "I'm not a little kid." She grumbled to herself. She jumped into the shower, turning the water all the way up and letting the heat turn her skin pink. She washed her hair quickly and turned off the water, grabbing the fluffy towel that hung on a hook on the door. She dried off and put on her equally fluffy pajamas, thanking Aphrodite silently. She wrapped her hair up in the towel and opened the door to find Thalia laying on her bed staring off into space.

"Finally!" she cried, hopping up and tugging on the towel. It fell out of Percy's hair and Thalia shoved her towards the bed.

"Now, you're most likely in shock after hearing all of this, but I don't want you staying up all night thinking. It's late and you need to sleep. Artemis's orders." She slipped out of the room as Percy crawled into bed.

Xxx

"Percy!" she excited whisper woke her from her slumber. Triton knelt on the ground next to her bed with an excited look on his face. "You'll never guess what Hermes told me!"

"That dad was possessed?" she questioned, rolling the other way and shutting her eyes. She could sense confusion surrounding him as he tugged on her shoulder.

"How'd you know?" he asked, sitting on the bed and leaning against one of the many pillows.

"Because Kronos possessed Luke when we were out in the barn and he told me that it was part of his plans." She mumbled, loud enough for him to hear. He tugged on her shoulder again and she rolled onto her back to look up at him. His head was blocking the lamp, so she couldn't see his face.

"Did he hurt you?" Triton asked worriedly, looking down at her. She shook her head and yawned.

"No. He just wanted to talk," she paused "and scare me." She mumbled.

"What'd he say?" Triton could see through her mask and saw that she had been scared by his visit.

"That he wanted to break me and the only way to do that was for him to take over and have me watch as he tortures my friends and family." She whispered softly. Triton shifted until he lying beside her, they looked up at the ceiling at her own personal galaxy that had come to life when Thalia had shut the lights off.

"I won't let that happen." He replied after a moment. "There are more gods than titans. If Kronos thinks he can take over, he's got another thing coming."

"I wish they could just leave us be." She whispered after a moment. Triton looked at her funnily before shaking his head.

"You know, there wouldn't be any demigods without war. Demigods where created to help protect Olympus." He spoke softly and she looked at him before turning back to the ceiling.

"And also because the gods can't keep it in their pants." She replied. Triton choked as he tried laughing, but eventually answered.

"Yes, and that." He nodded in agreement and the two lay on the bed for a few more moments.

"I should get going. You need to sleep." He stood up and made way for the door.

"Hey, Triton?" she called, he paused and turned towards her, questioningly.

"Don't let Thalia wake me up in the morning, kay?" it was mostly mumbled as she was already falling asleep, but Triton understood.

"Okay."

**I'll try to update tomorrow. Sorry for the long wait, I was on vacation and didn't have access to a computer**


	30. Too Late

**I'm extremely sorry I didn't update! As I've said before, I'll update when I can.**

Chapter 29-Too late

Percy woke violently, choking on a liquid that flowed down her throat. It was dark outside and she made her way towards where she believed the bedroom's bathroom was. She fumbled with the wall, trying to find the switch, coughing. The light burst on and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they had, she wished they hadn't. Dark, rich red blood ran down from her nose, dripping in a steady stream from her chin. She grabbed the towel and wiped some of it away, but her face covered in it again. It ran down her throat, the metallic taste thick as she spit it out. The sink filling with weird mixtures of saliva, water, and a lot of blood.

"No, no, no." she hissed as the blood ran faster, quickly filling the towel she held against her nose. She opened the cupboard beneath the sink and grabbed another towel. She threw the used one into the tub and held the clean one against her nose. She coughed again as blood raced down her throat. It spattered against the mirror and into the sink.

"Help." She prayed that one of the gods would hear her and she slid down the cabinet and sat on the floor. The blood dripped onto the tile and began to puddle. She looked up, as if begging for help from somebody. A few moments later, she heard her door bang open and looked up to see Rhode staring wide eyed at her.

"I, I heard your call and" she paused and gulped "What do I do? Do I call for help?" she was helplessly standing in front of Percy. "That's what I'll do, I'll call help." The goddess rushed out of the room and Percy desperately wanted to call her back in, but couldn't. It seemed that minutes went by before another immortal ran in, his green eyes stared in fright as he saw his sister, now lying on the floor.

"Triton." She whispered, looking scared. Her eyes where wide and she had desperation in her eyes.

"It's going to be okay." He choked back a sob and knelt next to her, lifting her from the sticky ground. Percy saw a glimpse of Rhode standing in the corner of her room, shock written upon her face. The light seemed to dim as Triton held her close and raced down the steps of the house. "We can't go by immortal travel or it'll kill you." A car was parked outside the house, its dark frame glinting in the moonlight. "This'll have to do." Rhode rushed by them and pulled open the backseat door and Triton leapt in.

"Triton! What do I do?" Rhode's panicked voice came from the driver's seat.

"Drive!" he yelled, leaning against the seat and pulling Percy close to him. Rhode took the turns at lightning speed. Percy saw glimpses of light and realized that it wasn't a normal car, it was someone's chariot.

"Park as close to the building as you can get and then run ahead and get the key." Triton ordered. The car pulled to a sudden stop and both gods leapt from the vehicle. Percy leaned against Triton's shoulder, blood having soaked through the towel, it dripped down her hands and onto his shirt. Bright light flashed and she closed her eyes as a sharp pain came from the middle of her forehead, behind her nose. She spit out some blood, coughing as some also went down her throat. Percy dimly thought how strange it was that Triton was running and yet it didn't feel at all bumpy.

Four golden walls surrounded her and fear enveloped her momentarily as she thought back to Kronoss castle, but she remembered that she was with Triton.

"Come on!" Rhode yelled, furiously pressing the buttons. Triton stared dimly at her and Percy watched out of drooping eyes.

"Hey! Hey, stay with me." Triton called. It sounded as if from a distance to her and she let her head drop against him. "Percy! Persephone. Open your eyes." She did as told, but soon they were drooping again. A ding resounded throughout her head and she gasped in pain. The towel fell from her hand as Triton raced towards the only building that that lit. Apollo's temple. She saw Rhode running ahead and felt the jolt as Triton hit the stairs, but it didn't really feel like any of fit was happening as she fell in and out of consciousness.

Xxx

Apollo and Zeus had been discussing ideas with Poseidon when the doors burst open with a _bang!_ They were surprised to see Rhode come rushing in, but horrified by what followed.

"Apollo!" Triton called, Persephone lay in his arms, blood pouring from her nose and dribbling from her mouth.

"My daughter." Poseidon's face was expressionless, but his eyes where filled with horror.

"In here." Apollo ran ahead of the god and demigod and started throwing together equipment he had designated in case something like this happened. Triton set Persephone down on the bed, she lay on her side, eyes still drooping. Her arm hung limply over the edge of the bed and blood dripped softly from it. "Get out!" he hissed at Triton, shoving the minor god out and slamming the door shut.

Xxx

Several hours later, when dawn had already broken the sky, but the sun had yet to reach its highest point, Apollo came out of the room, hands dripping. His shirt soaked and a dark burgundy red. He sighed tiredly and pulled off the shirt before walking to the sink and washing the blood off his arms. By this time, most of the Olympians stood in the main room, watching him.

"She's okay for now. I've got her on a heart monitor, an IV, and oxygen." He braced himself against the sink staring into the filmy water.

"We need to fix this as soon as possible!" Poseidon cried, jumping to his feet. Zeus followed him a little more slowly while the others just watched Apollo.

"It's too late." He whispered, not taking his eyes off the water as it drained from the sink. A shirt materialized onto him.

"What?" Poseidon asked, not hearing him.

"I said," Apollo turned with a grim look upon his face "It's too late." Artemis stared at him before shaking her head as if not believing him while Triton fell to the ground and Poseidon stared at him.

"What do you mean?" he cried out, stepping towards Apollo threateningly. "You said you could fix this!" he screamed, Zeus held him back. Tears streamed down Poseidon's face, his eyes turned five shades lighter than they had been.

"Even if we were to try and fix this," Apollo shook his head, trying to choke on his words "It's too late, there's too much damage." He slid down the wall and held his head in his hands. Artemis raced to her brother while Zeus held his brother tightly. The god of the seas fell against him, as if shot. Triton short sobs came from another corner of the room and Amphitrite hugged him as she herself cried.

"Please tell me he's wrong!" Triton's voice was broken as he held onto his mother, those who couldn't' take the pain and sadness flashed away, leaving the family. Hestia sat tending the hearth and Apollo eventually stood up.

"If you want to see her," his voice cracked "You can."


	31. They Were Prophesized

Chapter 30- They Were Prophesized

They entered the room cautiously, single file. Poseidon knelt beside his daughter's head and stroked her hair, whispering ever so softly that he was sorry over and over. Triton leaned against the wall and stared at his half-sister. Never having realized that it didn't take long to grow close to someone. Amphitrite hadn't known Persephone as well as her husband and son had, but she adored the girl dearly. She sat in a chair behind Poseidon, staring at Persephone's pale face. Apollo stood in the doorway, he had lost many patients before this, but Persephone was different. She was a hero. Hero's endings were messy, but Persephone's wasn't. She defied odds, she didn't submit to them.

"Apollo." The voice whispered softly from behind him. He turned to see Artemis watching him carefully.

"Hey." His broken voice came out crackly and she tugged on his arm.

"Come on. There is nothing more you can do and you need to rest." She shut the door behind him and led him down the passageways to his room. She shut out the sun with the dark blinds and left the room with a glare that warned him to follow orders. Walking back down the hallway, she could hear crying coming from Persephone's room. The door burst open and Triton's form hovered momentarily staring at her before speeding away.

"Sometimes, you've just got to run." She whispered to herself, following him out the door, but not following the same path he took. Instead, she turned towards her father's castle. Taking the stairs one at a time, she eventually reached the top. Stepping into the throne room. She saw her father deep in thought upon his throne. Unshed tears formed in his eyes. She stepped up to her throne and sat down in it. After a while, her father cleared his throat and looked over to her.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" he stepped off his throne and she joined him silently as they stepped out of the doors and into the most beautiful of all Demeter's gardens.

"Apollo's upset. I want to help him, but I can't." she stated as the stone turned to grass beneath their feet.

"Your brother cannot stand to lose what he fights for. It is that way with many. I believe he is like our heroes, in that way." They walked side by side and Artemis looked up at hi in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked

"Our heroes are simple. They are brave and truthful. They rise when they fall and are the best of swordsmen. I can't explain how your brother is like them. In time, I hope you'll see it for yourself." He sighed and looked up into the cloudy sky.

"What of Persephone." Artemis asked after a moment, knowing that there was another thought on her father's mind.

"She is strong, but not even the strongest can survive what has been done. If she wishes, we will bring her back the next Rise, but." He paused and Artemis answered for him.

"I don't know if she'll want to come back. Her mother and stepfather are in Elysium. She has many friends there as well."

"Yes. I'm worried though. By offering the heroes immortality, we are making her choose something that shouldn't be chosen upon." Artemis frowned at his words and glanced over at him, wondering what he meant by the statement.

"What do you mean?" she asked and Zeus chuckled softly to himself. Glancing at his daughter, he shook his head.

"Have you not yet seen it?" he asked and her frown deepened. Zeus chuckled louder this time, but grew serious once more. "All heroes have a love story. Some can be tragic, but they all do. It could be friendship that almost sparked or a true love story." He paused, sensing that his daughter was confused.

"Father. Persephone did have her love story and it was tragic, what are you going on about?"

"No. Maybe at one time Anthony and Persephone thought they were in love. They were young though."

'And she is not young now?" Artemis butted in, but Zeus held up a hand.

"No. That is not what I meant. In due time, others will learn what I'm about to tell you. Until then, you cannot tell a single soul." His eyes pierced hers and she nodded slowly.

"Long ago, your brother prophesized a story of two demigods who would defeat all odds to be together. We didn't make this prophecy public, because at the time, it wasn't important," he paused and sighed. "Four years ago, your brother came to me in excitement. He told me he had discovered the love story that he had told of. He showed me the images of two demigods. Nothing special was about them. One was unclaimed, the other a helpful Hermes son." He tilted his head to look at her, seeing if she was understanding it. Realization began to dawn on her face.

"You mean, Luke and Persephone." She paused and her father continued for her.

"Yes. I followed Persephone yesterday. She had decided not to go to Apollo about an injury and instead wandered one of the gardens. Here she met up with Luke. He asked her out and she said yes." Artemis frowned at his words and spoke.

"Why didn't she tell any of us?" she asked, suddenly angry at the girl for not telling her.

"When would she have had time? More importantly, what would the reactions have been? She was disowned and most would think her an idiot to have a relationship at this time. Even more would look down in disapproval after all the two have been through." He spoke harshly and she took a step back, suddenly upset that she had been mad.

"Your brother desperately wanted to save her, not just because of the prophecy, but because Luke and the other heroes have opted for immortality." Silence followed his words and the two turned back down the path towards Zeus's castle.

"Does Luke know what happened last night?" she questioned softly.

"Hermes told him this morning. The boy didn't believe him at first, but I believe he has begun to accept it." Zeus looked again to the sky and then back at the path they followed.

"Never would I have believed I'd care this much for a love story." Artemis spoke, her voice hushed.

"Never would I have believed that a demigod daughter of Poseidon would be able to change our ways like Persephone has." Both fell silent as they pondered on separate thoughts.

"I need to speak with Hades." Zeus said after a few minutes. He flashed away, leaving Artemis at the end of the garden, still deep in thought. A deep sigh radiated through her body as she stepped out onto the busy streets and walked towards the throne room where she knew for certain Hestia was.


	32. You Can Go

**I'm not exactly sure what happened. I uploaded this chapter and posted it, but now my account says that it was never posted. I'm sorry for the very long wait and I hope this isn't a repeat.**

Chapter 31-You can go

"Aunt Hestia?" she spoke softly as she entered the throne room. Her aunt was in her eighteen year old form, slowly stirring the fire. She wasn't sure if she should disturb, as Triton leaned against the stone hearth with his head between his knees.  
"Come in." Hestia smiled warmly at her and Artemis smiled softly back. "Your father has been talking to you?" she asked and suddenly Artemis had hundreds of questions with no answers.

"Yes. He told me of a prophecy of Apollo's from a long time ago." She sat down beside her aunt and watched the flames for a moment.

"The one that was never shared?" Hestia questioned.

"You know of it?" Artemis asked, lifting her head to look at her aunt.

"Of it, yes. About it, no." she stirred the fire once more before patting Triton's shoulder. Come, join us Triton." Triton lifted his head and turned around slowly so he was facing them.

"It was of a love story. Father really didn't go into the details, but Apollo found who it was about four years ago." She paused and breathed deeply "It was about Persephone and Luke." She paused, waiting for the reactions. Hestia didn't seem surprised while Triton stared in confusion.

"What?" he asked hollowly, but there was a hint of questioning in it, so she answered.

"Persephone Jackson, your sister has a prophesized love story with Luke Castellan, Hermes son."

"It can't come true though. My sister's on her death bed." Triton didn't seem so upset, so she gave him more information.

"Yesterday, Luke asked Percy out and she said yes. They didn't tell us because of what our reactions would be." Realization was slowly dawning on Triton's face and he grimaced.

"As much as I hate it; they are good friends. I guess it wouldn't be too bad if they were also dating." He rolled his eyes "but, if he ever hurts her." He left the threat hanging and Hestia began to laugh.  
"I'm glad you can be protective while at the same time have acceptance Triton." She replied after a moment. They sat in silence for a while, but eventually Triton stood up.

'I've got to get back. Dad needs a break and I want to be with my sister as much I can." He walked slowly out of the room and Hestia patted Artemis shoulder.

"You did a good thing telling him. He knows to keep it a secret, but at the same time he can help his sister."

"I just wish they could have a happier ending." She stood up nodded at her aunt respectively before noticing an old, worn jar sitting near the flame. "Aunt Hestia, what is that?" she nodded towards the jar and Hestia smiled as she patted the jar gently.

"A teenager once almost gave up all hope of defeating a titan. She said and I quote 'Hope survives best at the hearth. Guard it for me, and I won't be tempted to give it up again.'" She smiled softly to herself while Artemis stared wide eyed.

"I've got to go." She stuttered, walking out. She'd realized something from that quote. It was an underlying meaning that she'd have to ask the teenage girl about.

Xxx

"Hey dad." Triton stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Amphitrite was gone, but his dad still knelt beside his sister's head.

"It's all my fault." He whispered, smoothing down the girl's hair. Her skin had grown paler.

"It wasn't your fault," he paused and his father looked at him. "Percy wouldn't want you to blame yourself because she also knows that it wasn't you. Whoever it was that possessed you did this. Not you." He leaned forward and hugged his father, the heart monitor beeped steadily and he could sense the liquid in the IV dripping ever so slowly. "Go get some rest. If anything changes, I'll have Hermes come get you." Poseidon looked at him for a few seconds before standing slowly.

"I should probably check on your mother." He nodded, mostly to himself and Triton watched as he left the room. Sighing, he sat down on the cold, hard floor and watched as the heart monitor kept up its steady rhythm

"I know you can't hear me right now, but I don't know when I'll have the time to talk to you when you wake," he breathed deeply. "Artemis told me about you and Luke. At first I wasn't so sure, but I thought about it and you two are really good for each other. I want you to know that we're all rooting for you to get better, but if you don't have the strength, I understand. You're my little sister and I want to protect you, but if you living is going to leave you with fear and pain for a couple more weeks, it's okay to let go. You don't have to fight anymore. You deserve more than what we can give you. You're right, demigods weren't just made to fight for Olympus. They're made because gods can't keep it in their pants and most would think of them as mistakes because of it. I admit, I once thought you were a mistake, but now I see. You are what my family needed. They're so much closer now. You've made them closer and stronger and a family. I can't thank you enough. You're my little sister, I don't know how I could've been so cruel to you before." Tears streamed down his face and he leaned forward, letting the sobs wrack his body.

Xxx

It was dark when Apollo entered Persephone Jackson's room. He'd sent everyone home, as it wasn't looking good. The charts showed that her vital signs where dropping.

"You're giving up, aren't you." He spoke softly to the demigod as he watched the heart monitor slow. "Destiny has not been kind to you." He sat down tiredly and rubbed his face. Lost in thought, the god listened to the steady beeping and the hum of machines around him. He'd been born to heal and the hardest part was when the healing didn't work.


	33. Meeting Perseus

Chapter 32-

"No." the answer came a long time later. When the lights had been shut off and even the god of medicine had left. It wasn't loud, but nor was it quiet. Instead it was filled with vigor, as if life itself had taken ahold of its owner. Sea green eyes opened slowly. The heart monitor had long ago flat lined and Persephone Jackson turned her head towards the quiet singing of its death song. She rolled her eyes and slowly sat up, the hum of machines around her was already beginning to give her a headache and she sat up slowly, waiting for an onslaught of pain. It never came. Aphrodite must have been around earlier, because she wore a soft pair of jeans and a pink shirt that only Aphrodite would willingly wear. Black combat boots sat at the bottom of her bed, but she didn't pull them on. She longed to feel grass on her feet and ocean waves that lapped softly on sandy beaches. Persephone Jackson knew it had only been hours ago when she was on her death bed, she'd visited Charon twice, but every time he asked how she'd died, she had turned back. Unable to answer.

Following her instinct, she crept towards the door. Years of battle had left her lithe and agile as she walked silently through the old temple. She crept out a side door, onto an empty street of Olympus. Small fires lit the streets, making them homely and warming the frigid night air. Zeus's temple was dark, so Persephone jogged the opposite way, towards what she could only know as the edge of Olympus. A high pitched Taxi cab whistle echoed throughout the air. Percy's breath swirled around her as she waited on the edge of Olympus. Here, she could see soft lights below, the city of New York.

Soft flapping of wings warned her of the incoming pegasus. Blackjack landed softly behind her, his wings folding in with a quiet _Shlick._

"Hey handsome." She rubbed his arched neck softly in greeting and he nuzzled her face in reply. She desperately wished to reach out with her mind and speak to him, but she let him make the first move.

"_Boss." _He shook his head, a shiver ran down his spine and she laughed.

"Can you take me to paradise?" she stroked his cheek, gazing into his deep, dark brown eyes that filled with emotion.

"_I could. I heard you almost died, are you strong enough for this?" _he probed her mind for feelings of pain and withdrew in disappointment when he didn't find any.

"I don't know. I just need someplace quiet." She nudged his shoulder and leaped up onto his back, grunting with effort as she almost slid off.

"_Okay." _Blackjack replied, almost hesitantly as he took off at a brisk trot before spreading his giant wings to graze the clouds. The moon hung low in the sky, Persephone knew that Artemis would be driving it this time of night. Leaning forward, she watched the distant ground as it swept by in slow motion. Her mind drifted to several months before, when she had first asked Luke for help. It felt as if a restless ocean sat within her, and she rubbed Blackjacks mane nervously. His giant wings carried them quickly towards the paradise she had created.

Landing was soft, the horses and pegasi danced over in excitement. Persephone smiled softly as dozens of voices filled her head and laughed delightedly as the little crème filly she had helped birth danced up to her, now three times the size she had been last Percy had seen her.

"Hello princess." She whispered as the once little filly nuzzled her face, her blue eyes flashing in excitement.

"_I'm a princess?" _the voice overpowered the others and seemed to echo throughout her head.

"Yes. Your mother is a queen and your father is a king." She smiled down at the filly before turning to Blackjack.

"Your daughter is going to be a smart one." She whispered into his ear. Blackjack snorted in agreement and stepped forward to nuzzle his daughter.

Smiling at the two, Persephone sauntered down to the edge of the ocean, just close enough that she could feel the mist in the air. White stars seemed to glitter upon the dark water. Percy sat down among the rocks near the forest edge, watching the lights dance in the water.

"I'm sorry, could you tell me where I am?" the question came from the forest on her right. A man stepped out dressed in gold armor with Kronos's symbol emblazoned into it. A second later, her sword was at his throat and he had raised his arms in surrender.

"Who are you?" she growled, shoving the sword into his throat, so that a line of blood flowed down his neck.

"Perseus." He gulped and tried to move back, away from the blade, but he was up against a tree. A slight nudge from behind kept her from putting the blade through his throat.

_"__Sister, I brought him to you."_ The deep voice of Pegasus echoed throughout her head and she dropped the blade from Perseus's neck and bowed deeply to her brother.

"It is good to see you." She replied, smiling as the pegasus danced around her so that he stood next to the man.

"_No bowing, sister. I've heard news that father was possessed. Are you still disowned?" _He inquired kindly, his black coat glistening.

"No, but Apollo says it does not matter now." Pegasus bowed his head, sadness rippling through his eyes. The sea was still as the Pegasus nuzzled her shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry, I only caught half of that." Perseus interrupted, stepping around Pegasus so that he was face to face with Persephone.

"I'm Persephone Jackson, daughter of Poseidon and champion to Hestia and Zeus." She held out his hand for Perseus to shake.

"Nice to meet you. I am Perseus, son of Zeus." He stepped back to give her room and Pegasus wandered slightly away where he stood watching the field with happiness.

"Looks like Kronos got ahold of you." She nodded at his armor and Perseus grimaced.

"Yeah." He sighed dramatically and Persephone got the impression he had once been very self-absorbed. "I'm here to discuss being a spy for the Olympian gods. Could you take me to them?" he asked, Persephone glanced over to see that Pegasus wasn't paying attention. She moved down the beech to a moonlit spot in the sand and sat down. Perseus followed cautiously.

"I can. First you'll need to understand what has happened the last couple hundred years though." She snickered at the unhappy look on Perseus's face and began to explain the wars, camp half blood, roman demigods, and all else that was new Greek.

**Wow! Lots of P names in this chapter. Please tell me if I made any mistakes. Thank you for reading!**


	34. Mixed Emotions

Chapter 33

Several hours later, Persephone stood, watching as the moon finally crested the edge of the woods behind her and disappeared from sight just as soft hints of pink came across the sea.

"So, you aren't controlled by the Fates?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. He had several other questions, but to him, it was most important.

"No. I think they control a few aspects of my life, but when I die is up to some," she twirled her hands in the air and rolled her eyes "greater deity."

"The gods can't do anything about it?" he asked after a moment, watching her as she turned to him. Her green eyes flashed with worry.

"No." Pegasus walked up as she talked and her eyes twinkled "I'm just happy I'll die a daughter of Poseidon." Pegasus nodded in agreement and Persephone shook he head quickly to clear the depressing thoughts.

"So, I have a little sister and brother?" he asked, Percy smiled and nodded quickly.

"Yep. I don't know how Thalia will react, but I'm sure Jason will be happy." She easily leapt onto the back of Blackjack as he walked up and Perseus looked up at her in confusion.

"Where are you going?" his face clearly confused. Pegasus nudged him and Persephone tilted her head, smiling.

"Didn't you want to speak with the gods?" Blackjack leapt into the air as Perseus jumped onto the pegasus lord's back clumsily and the two Black pegasi took off like bolts across the sky.

"Aren't you afraid of the sky?" Perseus calmed the wind enough for him to yell the question to her.

"No!" she laughed at his facial expression "I'm the champion of Zeus, I can't be!" laughing, she threw a leg over Blackjack's back and freefell hundreds of feet before he caught her again, easily.

"What was that?" The wind slowed around them as both pegasi slowed. Persephone's eyes glowed with adrenaline.

"I used to be afraid of heights and sometimes I still am, so this is my way of getting over my fears." She sat backwards on Blackjack's back so that she was facing him. Pegasus shook his head roughly.

"You're crazy!" Perseus called as Pegasus took the lead and Persephone spun around so that she was still facing them.

"Maybe." She called back, seeing the edge of Olympus approach. Both pegasi sped up momentarily before flaring their wings and landing easily at a walk. They had landed near the elevator, so they had a long ride until they reached the large temple that signified Zeus.

"Care to go faster? I'd like to get this over with." Perseus asked as they started through the godly town. Minor gods, satyrs, and nymphs stared openly at them and Persephone quietly urged Blackjack forward.

Xxx

"She couldn't have just walked off!" the yell is from Apollo and his eyes are bright with panic and fury.

"How would she have disappeared?" Demeter argued, Zeus watched the argument intently while Poseidon paced frantically around the room. Triton stood next to Theseus near their father's throne, seemingly relaxed, their eyes shown with their true emotions.

"Someone could have taken her!" Apollo's voice grew even louder as panic filled his voice and he began to pace before his father.

"I highly doubt someone would be able to sneak onto Olympus, into your temple, and steal her." Demeter huffed angel and crossed her arms.

"Well, someone did." His eyes hot with fury, he faced his aunt. The standoff continued until Aphrodite walked leisurely into the room with a smile on her face.

"If you two are done arguing. Two pegasi are approaching and one seems to be holding Persephone." She rolled her eyes at the pettish argument and was almost overrun by the whole council racing out.

Two pegasus approached at an easy canter. Their black manes whipping in their riders faces. One rider obviously wore the titan lord's armor while the other had on a bright pink shirt. It was several minutes before both slid to a stop. Both riders leapt off with grace and the man took off his helmet to reveal black hair and blue eyes. All four bowed before the pegasi went to stand behind Persephone and Perseus was left alone to the side.

Xxx

The faces of the gods held mixed emotions as they watched Persephone. Some wore passive expressions while others were relieved. Yes a few where angry, very angry.

"Persephone." The relieved voce of Poseidon came from behind his brother, Zeus. Poseidon strode forward and wrapped his arms around Percy. "You're alive. Safe." He whispered as Percy hugged him back. She buried her head into his shoulder as tears came to her eyes. She blinked them back quickly as he pulled away to look at her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything Persephone." His eyes where filled with sorrow, but she smiled as she looked up at him, gently shaking her head.

"Don't be, it's not your fault." A few seconds went by, filled with silence. Then,

"I have a question." Apollo stated, coming to stand next to Poseidon. His eyes where filled with anger and she could tell he was barely containing it. "How is it that when I left you, your body was slowly shutting down and now you're standing in front of me."

"That's a good question." She tilted her head to the right and watched him with bright green eyes "You're the doctor." She shrugged as if to ask him the question he asked. Apollo glared down at her for a few more moments before sighing, rubbing his face stressfully.

"Yes. Yes." He admitted, calming himself and settling his aura. Poseidon stepped back, but kept his worried gaze on the two of them, especially on Apollo. Persephone gazed around once more at the faces of the gods before stepping back to pull Perseus forward. He stumbled slightly and grumbled something about stupid armor.

"I think you need to talk to your father." She pushed him in front of her and Zeus took in his appearance. A short gasp escaped his mouth and shock covered the King's face.


	35. Too Much Power

Chapter 34-

Pegasus and Persephone walked through the quiet gardens. Pegasus was explaining sea politics to her while Percy listened with mild interest. The gods where having a big discussion on the risks of taking Perseus as a spy and neither had wanted to be part of it.

"Pegasus." She questioned "Why is it that gods can choose their shape, but you cannot?" the question had been haunting her for years and now was as good as any time to ask. He watched her with a curious eye for a moment before shaking his head.

"Who says I cannot?" with that, he rose up into a marvelous rear and glowed brightly for a moment, forcing Persephone to cover her eyes. 'I've not shown many this form of my being." He stated after several seconds. Persephone uncovered her eyes to see her half-brother standing before her in human form. Dark jeans and a deep grey t-shirt stood out against his pale skin. Pegasus's dark eyes held a green glint to them as he spread his arms wide.

"Does father know?" was her first question. Pegasus lifted his head to the sky, shaking his head.

"No. Only Triton." He declared, running his hand through his hair as she walked up to him. The sky had darkened and Persephone could tell that Zeus was angry about something.

"Why haven't you shown anybody?" they continued to walk down the path, the flowers blooming around them.

"I don't know." He pauses to look at her then steps ahead so she can only see the back of him "I guess I've always been scared to be seen differently. With the gods believing I'm just an immortal horse with wings, I can be free to look after the equine animals of this world." Persephone understood. She had once been afraid to show her power because it meant sacrificing the refuge she had. She still hid some of her power.

"If your power was discovered, they'd force you to take on more." She nodded her head in understanding.

"So, what about you?" Pegasus asked after a moment. His dark green eyes flashing with mischief.

"What about me?" she turned to look at him with questioning eyes as he rolled his.

"Obviously you're hiding something. I've spent so long hiding my aura, I can tell when another is hiding theirs." He grabbed her arm as she took a step away. She let her guard slam down and emotion left her eyes, turning them an ugly green.

"I'm just a demigod." She spat, ripping her arm out of his grasp. A deep chuckle resounded from Pegasus as he flashed in front of her.

"Yes. You're a demigod. A daughter of Poseidon." His eyes became mirthful for some reason.

"What do you want?" she growled, reaching for her sword. His chuckle again resounded around them.

"When are you going to let the gods know what you can do?" he paused "I've talked to my son, Blackjack." This sent cold shivers up her spine. Only Blackjack had seen what she could do, she hadn't thought about him sharing it with anyone.

"You know what Zeus would do to me if he found out." She hissed, striding away from him, back the way they came.

"You're not going to die from disownment." He was again at her side in an instant and Persephone cursed his godly powers.

"No." stated simply, the word could have meant anything, but she stopped. Having admitted it, she realized that her life was now in the hands of her psychotic brother.

"It'll take years for you to heal. First you'll get worse, but as all things godly are, you'll get better." He leaned against an old willow tree, its branches hiding them from sight of the city nearby.

"I'm not a god though."

"No. You're damn close though." He paused to let it sink in "Your demigod body can no longer support the power you have and it'll either kill you or make you immortal."

"Exactly." She stated, running her hand along the bark, drawing its water stores out momentarily to draw strength from it.

"An immortal not contained by the Ancient Laws." A giant clap of thunder echoed around his words and both jumped. In an instant, Pegasus was back in his equine form. He lifted his great wings into the sky and took off just as rain started to pound down, weighing the branches of the willow tree down. "_I'll keep your secret if you keep mine." _His voice echoed throughout her head and she nodded slowly. Stepping out into the rain, letting it strengthen her and soak her skin and hair. She laughed in delight as her aura coursed around her. For a moment, she let her it go, letting it surge to its full being before flickering slowly back to its captured state.

"Some day." She whispered softly to it. As if it had a mind of its own, the power aura flickered angrily for a moment before becoming normal. Persephone shook her head.


	36. Welcome Home

Chapter 35-

"Where'd you go?" Apollo asked as she walked into his palace. She dried herself off the instant she was inside and glared at him.

"I decided to have a nice chat with Pegasus about sea politics." She declared. He rolled his eyes and stood up.

'Pleasant." He motioned for her to follow him as he walked down the hallway to her normal room. "You're father wants to bring you to his underwater palace tonight. I doubt I'll be seeing you for a while so we're going to have a little discussion." His eyes darkened as he leaned against the doorframe.

` "About?" she raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to look at him.

"I know you're a demigod and you've been in a lot of battles and yada yada," he paused as she snickered "But if anything feels wrong I need you to tell someone immediately." He growled, his eyes flashing gold with power.

"Okay." She crossed her arms and stared back at him, unblinking. After a moment, Apollo broke the gaze and cleared his throat while Persephone stood up. "I'll Iris message if anything goes wrong." She states, stepping around him and out the doorway. Leaving him to his own thoughts. Standing in the living room was her father. He greeted her with a smile when she walked in, but his gaze was son the god that stood behind her. Apollo stepped around her and sat down in one of the big, comfy chairs that faced the door.

"Let's go." Poseidon took hold of her arm. His face was a blank slate as he flashed them away from Olympus and into the sea. They arrived in front of the great gates of the castle. The guards bowed to the king as he passed and smiled respectively to Persephone as she followed behind. The palace was made of white marble. Its walls where engraved with fierce battles and beautiful sea creatures.

"I thought I'd do something new." Poseidon stated as he came to walk beside her. There were no longer sculptures of him everywhere. Instead there was moving images. Scenes of recent battles and old family memories.

"It's cool." She glanced around her at the amazing images. The castle was built differently, with tall walls that sloped inward slowly to create rounded ceiling, the ceiling was made to look like crashing waves and Persephone let her eyes rest on it momentarily.

"More family friendly?" Poseidon asked, his eyes glinting. Percy laughed, nodding her head.

"Yes." She exaggerated her head movement as they rounded the corner. Huge oak doors stood in front of them, glass windows letting them see blurry images of what lay beyond.

"This is the new throne room." A guard shoved the doors open as he bowed to the king and Persephone inwardly rolled her eyes.

"Percy!" the cry was from one corner of the room and before Persephone could turn, a pair of arms wrapped around her. She caught a glimpse of Triton's scruffy hair and hugged him back.

"Hey." She replied as he stepped back to look her up and down. He glared softly at her and Percy knew another speech about how reckless she was coming.

"You shouldn't have left." He started just as she rolled her eyes at him. "Really, what if something happened?"

"Nothing would have happened. I was with Blackjack." Sometimes the gods didn't realize how much she trusted him and that bothered her.

"You can give her the speech later." A kind, gentle voice spoke from behind them. Amphitrite walked through the doors with open arms and Percy stepped into them. Although she and her step mother had been off to a rocky start, it was being fixed. "Welcome her home first."

'Welcome home." Triton's grin spread quickly over his face, the smile reached his eyes and was contagious.

"Thank you." She tilted her head in acknowledgment while Poseidon chuckled. Triton turned to his mother with pleading eyes.

'Now can I give the speech." He begged, he even bowed a little with his hands in front of him.

"No." she said before turning to Percy "He would love to be an overprotective older brother for once." She smiled and Percy grinned back.

"He'll get plenty of chances." She replied, Poseidon frowned as she said this, but it was Amphitrite who questioned it.

"What do you mean?" All three gods watched her, but she shrugged it off and looked up at the ceiling.

"I'm a demigod. We're called to be the warriors of the gods." She wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying, her powers where going crazy down here, longing to stretch and grow. On top of that, she could sense a being lurking just behind her and she ached to know who it was. Sending out a small string of aura, she let it search the area until she was sure of who it was. When she did, she grinned. "Hello Theseus." She closed her eyes and drew Riptide. Its sadistic glow unearthly in the castle. She slashed it at him, forcing the hat that had been on his head to fall off and Theseus to appear. He battled her for a moment, but he obviously hadn't been ready and she quickly overpowered him, knocking him out cold.

"Why'd you do that?" Poseidon asked, a punishing look about his eyes.

"If you want to sneak up on a demigod, you best do it quickly and quietly. Theseus was quiet, but he wasn't quick. He also wasn't prepared." She replied, kneeling down and giving her brother a shove, causing him to awaken with a long groan. "Also, if you're trying to sneak up on someone," she didn't look at them as she said it, instead focusing on a corner of the room "You shouldn't be so sadistic about following someone for an entire day." She raised her eyebrows as someone chuckled behind her. "Luke." She growled, spinning around. He really could be sadistic at times.

"Apologies." He declared, flipping off his hat and leaning against the doorway behind Theseus. Amphitrite gave a small shriek.

"Not accepted." She declares stepping towards her best friend. "What do you want?" Luke had a way of shutting down all emotions and when he did this, it was crazy and he became very cold.

"I'm being babysat by this." He nudged Theseus with his foot. Theseus sat up and glared at Persephone.

"Interesting. Aren't you a little old to be babysat?" she questioned him, but didn't really care for an answer. She knew the true reason he was here.

"I thought so too, but our good buddy," he paused widened his eyes dramatically "Achilles doesn't."

"I wonder why?" she sent a questioning look towards him and in an instant, Luke with feelings was back. He sent an 'I'll tell you later' look back at her and she turned back to her father who was watching the entire nitration with passive eyes.

"If I may mention something," Theseus groaned as he stood up "I'd like to say that Persephone is just as sadistic as Luke." He patted Luke on the shoulder and rolled his eyes as his sister snorted in reply. "Now, if you'll excuse my student and I," he paused again, pulling on Luke's arm "I don't want to hang out with my _sadistic_ sister." They walked out of the throne room and Percy watched them go before the doors shut and The three gods turned to look at her.

"What was that?" Poseidon growled, Percy winced and shrugged her shoulders.

"I think Theseus wanted to prove that I needed more training and it backfired on him." They nodded as if agreeing with her statement.


	37. TV Show or Something

**dogbiscuit1967- I hope that your emotions can handle more! Thank you for the review!**

Chapter 36-

An emergency meeting was called into place on Olympus, so Persephone and Triton where left alone most of the evening. It was well after midnight when footsteps could be heard outside her door. A moment later, a thin stream of light was let in as a figure made their way in and softly shut the door behind them. Persephone flipped the switch to turn on her lamp and saw Luke standing there. She rushed to meet him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Hey." He replied to her greeting with a quick hug as she sat back down on the bed. He sat next to her, his face had a tired look upon it and Percy realized that he had most likely attended the meeting.

"What was the meeting about?" she questioned. Luke closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Whether it's safe to let 'traitors' roam." He sighed and opened his eyes partially to stare at her. Percy leaned into his shoulder.

"Of course it was." She mumbled, it was the only thing the meeting could have been about.

"It was also about you." He stated after a moment. Percy raised an eyebrow and mumbled a quick 'hm' that meant continue. "They were discussing making you immortal. Surprisingly, Pegasus was there." He paused as Persephone stiffened and sat up.

"Go on." She shut down her emotion and Luke ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"He didn't mention the power." By saying this, he admitted that he had been listening to the conversation between siblings. Persephone smiled softly.

"That's good."

"They wanted to try and make you immortal. Pegasus objected. The ruling was left incomplete, because Pegasus wouldn't explain his reasoning." He paused "You should tell someone. If Zeus finds out, he'll undoubtedly kill you out of fear." Percy nodded her head in reply, but didn't answer. She was battling her emotions.  
"I don't know Luke. If I tell someone, then it'll be me letting go of what refuge I have. Everything about me will be out there for everyone to see." She replied, looking up at him with worried eyes. Luke pressed his lips against her forehead and hugged her.

"They still don't know about us." He whispered. Percy smiled and looked up at him.

"I don't want them making us into a t.v. show or something." She admitted. Luke nodded his head, but kept silent.

"That," he paused for a second and shook his head "Oh gods that would be awful." She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction and after a moment they were both in fits of laughter.

"I would be sending a few gods to Tartarus." She growled, still shaking with laughter. Luke's face became mock scared and she laughed harder.

"Don't say that!" he tried to say more, but couldn't. Neither knew what was so funny about the situation.

"I think they'd have to spend most of the show cutting in and having us explain what's going on." She shook her head as she stopped laughing. Luke leaned back against the wall. "Okay," she gave him a serious look "What did you want to talk about before all of this?"

"Nothing! I just wanted to talk to you!" he exclaimed. Percy glared at him and he rolled his eyes, raising his arms in defeat. "Fine. I wanted to talk to you about the war." The way he said it made her think that it wasn't about past ones.

"And?" she questioned, her eyes paled slightly at the thought of another war.

"Zeus thinks it's going to be bad. Lots of demigods are going to die and many gods will fade."

"Fade?" she questioned. Fading was almost unheard of, but for many of them to fade meant the war would be bad.

"Yeah. It's against the titans. This time though, Kronos has his own body." Luke's eyes grew dim as he remembered his time as a host.

"So he'll be more powerful." She nodded her head as if it explained a lot. Luke shifted so that he was on the edge of the bed.

"We can discuss this more in the morning." He paused to stand "You should rest." The look in his eyes told her that he knew she wouldn't, but Percy was glad he told her anyways.

"See you tomarow." She whispered as he exited the room, reaching over, she flicked off the lamp and lay back down. Watching her ceiling quiver, she held conflicting emotions at bay, letting the ocean around her calm them.

Xxx

"Morning!" the cry came from a very excited Triton. He bounced into Persephone's room, expecting to wake her. He came to a stop when he saw the bed made and Percy sitting on the floor, staring off into space. "What's up?" he sat across from her and noticed that she looked extremely tired.

"Nothing," she smiled tightly at him before going back to drawing imaginary pictures on the floor with her pen.

"Obviously not." He declared, leaning closer to her. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She stood up and wiped imaginary dust from her jeans. Triton quickly stood up after her, but shook his head.  
"Persephone, you're not fine." For a few moments she stared at the floor before quickly shaking her head.

"I just wanted peace." She was trying desperately to gain control of her emotions, but couldn't. Triton stared at her for a second before pulling her to him.

"It's okay." He whispered, rubbing her back. "You don't have to take part in this one." Knowing what she was talking about, he tried to calm her with this notion.

"No, I can't stand by." As she said this, Percy shook her head quickly, closing her eyes and bottling up the hard to control emotions. She had rested on them too long already and she didn't need pity. What she needed was strength. Seeing this, Triton stepped back and watched his sister, hiding the worry that had taken control of his face.

"Father wanted me to wake you for breakfast." Percy smiled as she said this and twirled her hand.

"Well, lead on!" she declared. Triton laughed and shook his head, unable to comprehend how his sister was able to go from sad to ecstatic in a second.


	38. Breakfast with a Twist

Chapter 37-

"Benny and Rhode will be there." Triton mentioned as they walked down a long hallway. They'd taken the back way which was supposedly slower, but less traveled by.

"Ooh! How great." She sarcastically commented. Triton nodded his head, as if agreeing with her.

"Father said Rhode will be on her best behavior." Triton shook his head as if agreeing with what his father had said.

"Like that'll happen." She paused. "I am the bastard child." She chuckled dryly at her comment.

'At least you won't be the only one," triton paused before continuing "Theseus will be there too."

"And Luke." She mentioned. Triton stiffened slightly, but nodded his head.

"Yes." He paused again "But he's not a bastard child." He raised an eyebrow at her and Persephone rolled her eyes.

"In Rhode's eyes, we're all bastard children." She skipped ahead of him and Triton had to jog to keep up.

XXX

Apparently the dining room was grander then the throne room. Hundreds of chandeliers lined the ceiling, shining lights of many different colors. Her father's warm embrace greeted her, but she could feel Rhode's incessant glare and Benny's happy attitude.

"Good morning." Luke growled dryly, stabbing at his food. Theseus had a smug look upon his face and Percy knew something was up.

"What's got you in such a great mood?" she requested an answer from Luke and surprisingly, he answered.

"Ask your dumbass brother." Luke spoke quietly, as Poseidon was deep in conversation, but Rhode heard and gasped loudly, stopping all conversation.

"Which one?" she asked sweetly, twirling the extremely sharp butter knife around her fingers as if to threaten him. If Triton could've, he would've kicked her at that moment, but he risked accidently kicking his mother.

"The one who has foolishly convinced Achilles to continue our training." All emotion shut down on Persephone's face. The butter knife went dangerously still and Theseus's gulp could be heard in the quiet room.  
'Really?" she questioned, her voice growing dark. Theseus judged the look upon her face before wisely letting his eyes shift to a lighter more calming color.

"I talked to Perseus last night." He had a proud tone to his voice "He said he got pretty close to you before you noticed his presence." Luke cleared his throat, as if to warn him and sent a few looks towards the siblings.

"Hmm." Persephone let her eyes grow extremely dark as she glared at her brother. Poseidon caught on pretty quickly to what Luke was trying to do and had stood up.

"Today is going to be your hardest work ever. I'm planning on having you too half dead by the end of it." Theseus knew he was going to hit a soft spot, he just had to find the right one. He was purposely egging his sister on. Most likely as revenge for the night before.

"You know." Persephone paused to take a sip of water, calming herself slightly in the process. "The sad thing about demigods is they're already always half dead." With a slight flick of her wrist, she sent the water from her glass at him like knives. The droplets stopped an inch from his face and he grinned sadistically at his sister. Poseidon was edging around the table while Luke had his hands on the table, ready to shove himself up at a moment's notice.

"Nice try, but I'll always have more control then you, little sister." He leaned back in his chair and sent the water flinging back at Persephone. She ducked, but it was a moment too late, the water grazed the side of her face, cutting it open. A thin line of blood poured down from it.

"Theseus!" Poseidon's voice broke the tension and Triton watched wide eyed as Persephone stood slowly from the table and walked out. The air around her growing darker by the second.

Xxx

Persephone stood about a quarter of a mile from the palace in an old arena. Its walls where crumbling, but it had a bubble around it, so Persephone sat in the dry sand, staring into Riptide as if it could tell her what was happening. The cut had long since healed, but a thin line of blood remained on her face.

"What was that about?" Amphitrite's calm voice came from beside her. Persephone had sensed her coming, but had pretended not to.

"Theseus is under a lot of tension right now. Between keeping Luke safe, training us, and the upcoming war, he's pretty stressed." Persephone wiped a soft rag up and down her blade a couple of times, letting the oil in the rag turn the dull places to a gleaming gold.

"I think he's upset about not being able to protect you too." Amphitrite answered, sitting down next to her step daughter. The water above them twinkled with the soft light that came from the sun above.

"I don't know about that." Percy shook her head and flipped the rag over to reveal dots of dried blood that had come off her blade. She rubbed the blade again, but Amphitrite's hand covered hers, forcing her to look up.

"Trust me. He's worried about you." She pauses and sighs softly "We all are." Persephone didn't know what to reply to that so she stared out of the bubble, into the open sea that faced them and the creatures that swam around them.

"You shouldn't be." She couldn't help but say it and immediately cursed her ADHD for such a comment. Amphitrite was quiet for a moment. 'I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," Amphitrite gripped her hand and smiled softly "I hope someday you'll feel like you truly belong with our family, but until then, I hope you accept that we care." With that, she stood up and walked away. A part of Persephone wanted to follow her, but she sighed and leaned back so she was lying looking up at the water above her.

Xxx

Persephone got back to the castle several hours later. She'd practiced her sword fighting with a couple of dummies she created from water and then did a workout that camp had taught her, complete with pushups, box jumps, pull-ups, burpees, wall jumps, and a whole lot of running.

"You missed practice." That was the phrase that greeted her as she walked through the doors of the castle. Theseus leaned against one of the pillars watching her with a slight smug look on his face. Percy rolled her eyes.

"Really?" she questioned his thoughts sometimes. She was sweaty, she stunk to the high heavens, and she hadn't eaten since dinner the night before. Now was NOT the time to mess with her.

"Achilles had Luke practice some roman maneuvers and then Odysseus took over from there and had Luke right the Latin alphabet one hundred times because he was goofing off and said something about Latin not being needed." He pushed off the wall to come walk beside her and she let her face grow blank as a sort of punishment. She knew from personal experience that Poseidon's children where really good at reading expressions.

"And what did you teach?" she questioned. Theseus let out a dramatic sigh.

"I stayed here and waited all day for you to come back. Achilles finally came down to see what was up and I had to explain to him that you," he added emphasis there "where absent."

"Interesting. I'm surprised you weren't at practice, seeing as you where the one that wanted it." She could practically taste the tension it was so tight. But suddenly it dispersed and Theseus sighed.

"I'm just trying to keep you safe." He grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away and turned her towards him. His face was easily readable, being pleading.

"I know." She paused to let her emotions show "but at some point you're going to have to realize that sometimes _I _need a break."

"I'm sorry." He spoke after a second and Percy knew the apology was sincere. She decided to let it go.

"I thought you were on babysitting duty?" Theseus grinned at this statement/question.

"I was." He paused to be dramatic "But as of right now, Luke is on his sixty forth attempt at the Latin alphabet so Odysseus took over." Persephone stared at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?" she asked. She'd expected Latin to come easily for Luke since he was a son of Hermes.

"It seems he's grown a bit rusty." He frowned and nodded as if agreeing with his own words and Percy laughed.

"Well then." She answered, smiling. She was happy that there wasn't tension between them anymore.

"There's another emergency meeting on Olympus. Triton wants to be there, so that leaves you by yourself tonight. I'd stay with you, but I'm needed as a replacement for Odysseus." Persephone rolled her eyes.

"I always thought meeting where just the Olympians." She stated. Theseus nodded agreeably.

"They were. A few weeks ago, Zeus decided that the minor gods needed more say and invites them to attend. Most don't come." Persephone wasn't extremely upraised. A lot of changes had been happening lately.

"When's the meeting." A hesitant response came from Theseus when she asked this and she laughed.

"Go!" she playfully shoved him away and he waved to her before taking off in the opposite direction, back out of the palace. "And make sure somebody comes to tell me what happened!" she yelled. She didn't know if he heard though.

**Thank you for the reviews!**


	39. Headache

Chapter 38-

Persephone wasn't in the best mood when someone knocked on her door. She still hadn't eaten anything. She hadn't wanted to get lost in the overly large castle while looking for the very well hidden kitchen.

"Come in." she yelled, sending a blistering shot of pain through her head. The door opened and closed, but she still didn't know who it was and she wasn't about to life her arm from her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she jumped slightly at the sound of Triton's voice. She didn't answer for a moment.

'Headache." She whispered, shifting her arm a little, but not much.

"Looks pretty bad." The bed shifted and she winced as another searing blow hit her head. Triton mumbled something under his breath. "When did you eat last?"

"Last night." She mumbled. Triton mumbled something like a curse word and smiled slightly.

"Here, drink this." The tip of a cup hit her lips and the taste of warm, blue, chocolate chip cookies. The pain subsided slightly and she was able to sit up. "I'd give you more, but I don't want you to internally combust. Let's go to the kitchen." They traveled slowly, and Persephone wouldn't be able to remember the way, but finally she was able to ingest food.

"I've never had something so good." She muttered as she ate a salad with chicken on top. It was one of the things she'd had a lot at camp, but she'd never been this hungry for it until now.

"Yeah?" Triton watched her in amusement as she practically inhaled the food. Her headache had disappeared upon the first bite.

"So," she paused to take another bite "What happened at the meeting?"

"Lots of conversation on who possessed dad. We didn't find out though." He rolled his eyes as he sat in a chair across from her.

"Really? What was said?" she questioned. Triton rolled his eyes again.

"Really, not much. It was mostly an argument on if it was a god, titan, or primordial and that was never concluded. We also talked about Perseus and it's been decided that he'll be taken on as a spy. Uncle Zeus isn't too happy about it though."

"I bet." She replied. Finishing up. Triton stood up and she followed him out of the kitchen, leaving the dishes for the hidden people that had served her.

"So, what did you do today?" Triton asked as they walked back down the hallway.

"I hung out in an old arena and trained for a while. I did a lot of thinking too though." She smiled softly as she remembered what she thought about, but didn't share.

"Is thinking safe?" he teased and she glared at him.

"This thinking was." She stated before continuing. "I can't share it, but as soon as I can, I will." Triton seemed to contemplate this before he spoke up.

"About you and Luke dating?" he asked. Persephone paused mid step and stared at him.

'Wait. What?" at first Triton didn't know if he'd been wrong, but the look on her face proved him wrong.

"You and Luke are dating!" he declares, a smirk covering his face. It takes Percy a few moments to answer, and when she does, she had dragged him all the way to her room and shut the door tight.

"How the hell do you know?" she growled, the ocean is growing dark outside and a heavy currents are now pummeling the bedroom windows.

"Eh," he begins "I know." He vaguely answers. Persephone doesn't answer, instead sweeping her fingers through her hair in long motions.

"You can't tell anyone." Her voice is almost pleading as she tells him this. Triton sort of frowns, but remains silent as he watches his sister for a few minutes.

"Why?" he questions her motives as he sits down, making himself comfortable on a chair in the corner.

"Just," she puts on a pleading expressions "Don't, okay?" Triton nods, agreeing with her and she sighs. Relaxing, she lays down on her bed and faces the ceiling.

"When'll it be safe to tell?" she looks over at him and places her hands behind her head. Triton leans forward, resting his arms on his knees.

"I don't know," she pauses and smirks "When the world isn't ending."

"So, never?" Triton jokes. Persephone laughs and shakes her head before her face grows serious again.

"Do you think there'll ever be peace?" she asked. The question hangs heavily in the air and Triton finds himself struggling to answer.

"I think it's up to you to create your own peace," he pauses, then adds "And not let anyone destroy it." He stands up to leave, as it is around midnight.

"I need some lessons then." Her comment makes him smile as he heads for the door. Opening it, he turns to see that Persephone is already half asleep "Good night, little sister" he whispers.

"Good night, brother."

**I know that some of these chapters are short, but I believe they are needed. I could add more to make them longer, but that would make them dreary and nobody would want to read them.**


	40. Shopping

**Thank you for the reviews!**

**DarkMando- Weird question, but I'll answer. No, I don't do crossfit. The workout I wrote is my ideal and favorite workout (minus the sword fighting).**

Chapter 39-

"Persephone!" the shout woke her from her horrific dream and she jolted awake with a gasp. Benny's face was less than a foot away from hers and she jumped back in surprise.

"Hi." She tilts her head questioningly. Benny sits down with a thump next to her and Percy sits up so she doesn't have to stare at godly butt.

"So! Mom wants to go shopping today and she said you absolutely must go!" her face is now less than six inches from Percy's.

'Okay." She backs up a little, but can't go far because of the wall. "Are you going?" A disappointed look answers her, but that's not enough for Benny.

"It's not fair! I have to go sit in a stupid meeting while you get to go on a shopping spree!' she lets her face and voice grow pouty and Persephone has to try hard not to laugh.

"That must be hard." She nods as if sympathizing with her godly sister and inwardly rolled her eyes.

"It is!" with that, the goddess jumped up and fled the room, screaming about unfairness. Percy threw her pillow over her face and groaned. Her door was still open, so she wasn't surprised when Luke walked in with a bowl of cereal and practically sat on top of her.

"Morning." He spoke softly as he leaned against the wall and got comfortable. Percy mumbled something unkind in reply and Luke snorted.

"I heard you're going shopping." He spoke with clarity and she lifted the pillow to glare at him with one eye.

"Uh huh." She let the pillow fall back on her face and vaguely heard someone else walk in.

"What you eating?" Theseus asked as he sat down next to Luke. He drummed his feet softly on Persephone's stomach and she jolted in surprise. "Morning." He grinned as she kicked out at him at narrowly missed Luke's cereal bowl.

"Is someone going to let me sleep?" she growled. Bubbles of laughter followed and gave her an honest response. 'What time is it?" she didn't really trust them to tell her the truth, but asked anyway.

"Seven thirty." Luke responded. His mouth sounded full and she could hear him softly chewing.

"Are you serious?" She lifted the pillow again and looked at the alarm clock that sat next to her bed. "Dang." She yelped, letting the pillow fall back down.

"Is this where we're all hanging out?" Triton's voice startled her as he sat down next to Theseus, lifting his feet so they rested on the headboard above her head. Quietness followed and Percy was almost asleep when a question popped into her head.

"I thought you were being babysat on Olympus." Luke laughed at her question and mumbled something unintelligible which earned him a quick _Thwack! _On the back of the head.

"He was, but I brought him here to trade back off." Odysseus's voice came from above her head and the bed shifted once again. It wasn't a large bed, so it was beginning to become crowded. Actually, to Percy, it had been crowded before everyone came in.

"And I came with." Achilles voice came from next to her head and Percy growled softly in frustration.

"Come on up." Luke's cheerful voice invited him onto the bed and Achilles disdain could almost be sensed.

"I think I'll pass." She heard him sit down in the slightly creaky chair in the corner and let herself relax once again. Nobody spoke, so she thought maybe she could get a few more moments.

"So this is where everyone is." Poseidon's voice came from the doorway and Persephone suppressed a groan.

"Hey dad." Theseus and Triton reply in unison. Theseus calls jinx, which Triton humbly ignores and Luke snickers under his breath.

"It looks like your sister is trying to sleep." His voice is accusatory and Percy is almost relieved.

"Benny's already been in, so we're protecting Percy from the pouting." Triton declares. One of his feet slips and hits Percy in the face. She growls loudly and Luke snickers even louder as Triton mumbles a quick set apology.

"I can take over the protection." Amphitrite's voice sounds from the doorway beside Poseidon and Persephone sighs softly in relief.

"Okay." Odysseus is the first to get up, he nimbly steps over her and jumps to the floor. Another person shifts and Triton leaps off the bed, leaving Theseus and Luke. Percy not sure who goes next, but their foot hits her gut and she grabs it and rips it out from under them. _THUD! _A soft yelp came from the person and a gasp from the doorway.

"Well, your nose is busted." Luke's voice sounds from her feet and internally, Percy is relieved.

"Yeah?" The voice sounds like someone who's sick with the flu and there nasal passages are full. From battle experience, Percy nose it's busted up pretty badly.

"Is this payback?" The suspicious voice of Luke comes near her head and she realizes he's shifted so that he's lying next to her and his head is near hers.

"Eh." She replies, not sure. She hadn't been sure who it had been and it had been more reactive then anything.

"Well." He shifts so he's back sitting up and he leaps lithely over her and lands on the floor with a soft _thump_. "See ya." The room grows quiet and she timidly lifts the pillow from her face. Amphitrite and Poseidon are still in the doorway, so she throws the pillow to the end of her bed and sits up.

"Thank the gods." She mutters. Amphitrite's trickle of a laugh can be heard.

"Your welcome." Poseidon calls, leaving the doorway with a smirk to go check on his son.

"So," Amphitrite's cheerful voice breaks the silence. "If you want to get dressed, we can pick up breakfast at a café somewhere in town." She throws a white blouse and a pair of dark black jeans at the demigod and shuts the door behind her. Distaste covers Persephone's face, but she puts the clothes on anyways.


	41. Not So Secret Anymore

**Read4life- No, it's not wrong! I'll update whenever I can and sometimes that means several times a day and other times it means once a month. It depends on how busy I am. Thank you for reviewing!**

**DarkMando- Maybe I will try it!**

Chapter 40-

Luckily, Amphitrite was not a die-hard shopper. They stopped shortly after lunch and now sat on Olympus in a small café towards its outskirts. The tables seemed old, but it had a homely feeling to it that Persephone sometimes missed.

"You know," Amphitrite starts and Persephone immediately knows something is up "Triton has been speaking a lot during the meetings." This interests Percy greatly, as she hasn't heard about this from him.

"Really?" she questions, leaning forward with a soft smile, as if welcoming Amphitrite to say more.

"Yes. Your brother has been talking about taking you off the quest list." She seems happy about this, but worried that Percy won't be.

"What quest list?" She leans forward a bit more and Amphitrite happily answers.

"Well, Zeus decided to have a list of demigods old and fit enough for quests. He says that they're the only ones allowed to go now." She pauses and then adds "It's to keep the demigod deaths down." Persephone understands this, but why take her off the list?

"Why take me off the list? I'm sixteen and I've had more experience than most other demigods." She says this complacently, but keeps a blank face.

"Triton and Rhode have both talked to the council. They described the _incident _with great worry. Apollo has also spoken and they have decided to take you and Nico off the list." She's happy that Nico is off it, but not happy about herself. Needing to play it cool, she keeps quiet. "How do you feel about this?" now is the time for Persephone to lie. Honestly, she feels ready to kill someone.

"I'm ready for peace. I'm willing to train a demigods, but my time with quests is over." She lies easily and the goddess cannot see through it.

"Good," Amphitrite smiles "We've been hoping to really have some family time. Include you and Theseus and get to know you two better." She states. Persephone winces and sighs inwardly. She would love to be part of this family. Maybe, just maybe.

"I would love that." A genuine smile follows the fake one she had been wearing.

"I was thinking we'd spend some time at your house in a week or two, if that's alright with you." She pauses "Rhode has been complaining about needing to work on her tan." The goddess smiles affectionately as she thinks of her daughter and Persephone tires not to laugh.

"That sounds perfect. I would love too, but I also need to spend some time with Luke." This sends a frown upon the goddesses face and Persephone curses herself.

"Why's that, dear?" she questions. Persephone's mind goes blank and for a moment she almost blurts out the truth but she grabs mental hold of herself.

"Luke's the only one who can really stand up to me for long in a swordfight. Since he's back in the mortal world, he's been begging for me to go with him to camp for a new sword." She lies easily and yet again, it's believable.

"Your father is worried about your relationship with that boy." Amphitrite inquiries. Persephone smiles and shakes her head.

"Father has nothing to worry about. Luke is my best friend, but we're just friends." She says it firmly and believably. Or so she thought. A suspicious look is about Amphitrite's face, but she nods agreeably.

Would you be looking for anything more now that your life has settled?" Percy is beginning to think it's time to let this lie go. Her hesitation doesn't go by unnoticed.

"So you like this boy?" Another question. Persephone is now nervous that the other gods at tables are listening and silently begs Amphitrite with her eyes not to have this conversation.

"You know what?" Amphitrite stands and Percy stands with her "I think we should go see some of the gardens, I hear they're lovely this time of day." And out they go. Persephone follows a few steps behind as Amphitrite expertly weaves through the crowds. A few times, Percy thinks about 'getting lost' in the crowd, but every time she even thinks it, Amphitrite looks back with a 'don't you dare' look.

"Explain." Her voice is tight and terse as she spins to face Persephone.

"We haven't been dating long." She pauses "Really only since I was disowned." Amphitrite makes a tutting sound of disapproval.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Her blue eyes bear icicles in them and give no warmth.

"I don't know. I guess I'm scared." She grows quiet and Amphitrite's face softens.

"What are you scared of?" she grips Persephone's shoulder gently and Percy looks down at the ground, scuffing the ground with her foot nervously.

"I feel like the gods control every aspect of my life. Everything in this world is so open. I can't do anything without you guys making a big deal out of it."

"That is," she shakes her head and smiles "Understandable. Because it's you, it'd be turned into a t.v. show and with Luke in it," she tilts her head as if to say 'well'.

"Exactly my thoughts." Persephone scuffs at the grass some more until Amphitrite speaks again.

"I'll keep this to myself, but you need to tell your father as soon as possible." Percy frowns slightly at this, but it's understandable.

Xxx

It's almost dinner time when Amphitrite happily drops Persephone off at camp with the promise to pick her up when the meeting is over. Percy smiles and pets Peleus as she walks by. The dragon purrs with content and Persephone moves on with a little brighter of an attitude. Her aim is not one of any interest to the new demigods. Some of the newest ones don't even recognize her which is nice. She steps up onto the screened porch of one of the cabins and takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. She knocks.

"Well, well. If it isn't Persephone Jackson." Anthony's smug face appears as he opens the door. Percy isn't happy about this.

"I need your help."


	42. Thank You Artemis

Chapter 41-

The council was well into session when the topic of the quest list came up. A few arguments could be heard, but most of the gods were onboard with taking Nico and Persephone's names off the list.

"All in favor of taking Persephone Jackson and Nico di Angelo's names off the quest list?" Zeus's voice rang out through the room and it went silent. Hands where beginning to raise when the throne room doors where flung open and Anthony Chase walked in with Persephone Jackson following close behind.

"I'd like to request a quest." Anthony's bored voice surprised most of the Olympians. He kneeled at Zeus's feet as Persephone bowed her head and stood next to her brother below her father's throne.

"What are you doing?" Triton hissed, knowing something was up, his aura was expanding and contracting in a horrifying state, so Percy kept her eyes on Anthony.

"Nothing." She mumbled, her eyes where dark and he suspected something was up. Zeus's voice answered though, and their conversation was broken.

"Quest granted. The new rules state you can bring up to three friends with you" He declared broadly. Anthony grinned slightly.

"I'll bring one." He paused and turned towards Persephone. She rolled her eyes at his dramatics as he opened his arms.

"Want to come?" he questioned. Percy grinned, this was all part of the plan and the gods could see that.

"Hell yeah." Both demigods grinned as they watched the gods' reactions. Amphitrite stood beside Triton, and both their faces looked betrayed. Apollo had his head in his hands and was muttering something while most of the others where in great shock.

"Wait." Artemis called out, both demigods turned to look at her "Persephone, why are you doing this?"

"Honestly, I don't know." She loses her eyes for a second and when they open they're a new, vibrant color that the gods haven't seen before in her "I guess this is my way of saying that we should be able to decide if our names are on that list or not." Anthony walked towards the doors, leaving Persephone looking up at the goddess of the hunt.

"Percy, we leave in two days." He called back. Percy knew what he meant. 'You can deal with this mess, I'm leaving'

"See you at camp." She called back, then turned to the council. Zeus had a frustrated look on his face as he brought the meeting to a close. A few flashed out, but most got off there thrones and began to approach friends and family. The conversation was all the same though. Percy braced herself as Poseidon began to approach. Behind him, she saw Triton shake his head at her before leaving through a side door.

"Why?" Poseidon's voice held slight betrayal in it and Persephone shook her head, unable to explain. "Well, I'll send someone to bring you to the palace." He sighed and flashed away quickly. Percy averted her eyes. Mixed feeling hurled inside her. Times like this where when her powers were hardest to control.

_"__He's worried about you."_ She turned to see Pegasus watching her. She shook her head and he began to approach, trotting through the crowds to get to her.

"Times like this," she shakes her head "So hard to control." She knew he'd know what she meant.

_"__Maybe it's time to decide what path you're to take." _She frowned in confusion to look at him, but he was already walking away. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"You really are on a suicide mission." Apollo's voice came from behind her and she turned slowly.

"I don't think so." She paused to choose her words carefully "This quest is sort of my way with coping with all of what's happened since I was twelve."

"You need new coping skills, then." He voiced, Persephone nodded in agreement and he sighed.

"You know you won't survive this." Always straight to the point, Apollo. Percy grinned dryly.

'I have a habit of doing the impossible." She glanced around the room, hearing hushed conversations and her name flickering from group to group.

"They think you and Anthony are back together." Apollo answers for her. She snorts loudly, but not loud enough for the group closest to them to hear.

"Never." She growled. Apollo laughed softly as his sister approached. Artemis' eyes held several questions in them, but she held them back.

"Looks like your dad's upset." She mentioned. Percy nodded in agreement. She could see her uncle now approaching, his eyes dark.

"Persephone." His voice quieted several of the groups around them and she suddenly grew uncomfortable with the attention she was getting.

"Lord Zeus." She bowed her head in respect, keeping her eyes on the floor. It was silent for several moments.

"Know that the whole Olympus stands behind your decision." He spoke with clarity, as if the finality would help keep the rumors to a minimum.

"Thank you." She whispered. Apollo cleared his throat, as if to say 'are you sure?' but she didn't say anything else. Zeus began to walk away and she looked up to see Apollo and Artemis glaring at his back.

"How are you feeling?" Apollo asked suddenly, Artemis turned back to her with worried eyes.

"I'm fine." she answered, Artemis rolled her eyes while Apollo just nodded. The conversations had slowly started up around them again and Percy started to walk away, towards the door. Artemis followed, walking next to her.

"You should tell your father about you and Luke." She mentioned. They weren't out of the throne room yet, so Percy sent a socked yet threatening gaze towards Artemis.

'Wait, what?" Hermes voice came from somewhere to her left and she realized he'd heard. Resisting the urge to kill Artemis, she turned towards him.

"Did I hear that right?" Aphrodite's squeal could be heard halfway across the room.

"You heard her right." Luke's voice sounded from behind her and Persephone bit back a yelp. He stepped forward and glanced at her apologetically, but it hadn't been outed by him so there was no reason.

"Luke, is that so wise-" he was broken off by his son's eye roll.

"Is it so wise dating Poseidon's daughter when the person who possessed him disowned her for hanging out with me?" he paused and then added "I don't care." Now the whole room had grown quiet and all Percy could do was keep her face neutral.

"How long?" Zeus's voice came from somewhere to her right and she glanced to see him approaching. Aphrodite was following quickly behind and Percy groaned slightly.

"Eh," she glanced at Luke who now had the decency to look everywhere but the gods "A few days." She replied nonchalantly. Hermes, who'd been calmly sipping on ambrosia began to choke.

"You don't mean." He paused and Persephone filled in for him.

"Yes, we began dating after I was disowned." In the corner of her eye, she could see Theseus trying to keep a straight face. It was good to know that one person wasn't taking this too seriously.

"So you get disowned for hanging out with him so you date him." Zeus tilts his head questioningly and Luke's now interested in the ceiling.

"Yes." She replies as calmly as possible. Now that he says it, it sounds very absurd.

"Wow." Zeus replies, but Percy hears the underlying comment of _stupid._ Artemis has wisely backed up so that she's back to standing with her brother and Persephone can see Aphrodite waiting to pounce.

"Does our father know?" Hermes questions Percy. She freezes and Zeus groans loudly while Hermes drops his head.

"Better be quick." He replies, Persephone nods and kind of motions towards the door.

"So, we'll be going now." She grabs Luke's hand and practically drags him running out the door.


	43. Easier than Expected

Chapter 42-

"Well, that's out." Persephone was the first to speak. Luke and her had made it back to Camp Half-blood and where now walking on the beach. Persephone had already called her father and begged him to meet here there, but she wasn't sure if he was coming.

"Now all we have to deal with is your father." Luke answered, nodding to himself uncomfortably. Persephone thought for a moment as the waves began to still.

"Maybe you should leave and let me handle this." She mentioned. Luke immediately thought it was a great idea, as Poseidon was very protective.

"Okay. I'll be in the arena." He walked away and Percy watched him go for a second before turning back to the sea. Jumping a bit in surprise when she saw her father standing there.

"Persephone, you wanted to talk?" he questioned. Percy nodded and stepped closer. The two walked down the beach for a moment as Percy gathered her thoughts.

"Today at the council, Artemis let something slip that I really need to talk to you about." She mentioned. Poseidon motioned for her to continue. "A few days ago, after you disowned me," she paused as his breath hitched "I started dating Luke." To say Poseidon was surprised was an understatement. Even the waves paused as he stood looking at her.

"Why didn't you tell me this before now?" his voice was accusing and Percy winced.

"I was scared. With everything in my life so overboard and the gods watching me every second, I was scared that it would become another one of Olympus's t.v. shows or something."

"I understand, but next time please tell me." He's still a bit in shock and Persephone's not sure if more is coming.

"Okay." She found herself nodding in agreement as they continued walking down the beach.

"While we're speaking on such honest terms, I'd like to talk to you about the quest." This was another conversation Persephone didn't want to have.

"I've already told you why. I don't have any other explanation right now." She knew that her answer had not satisfied her father, but she also knew she couldn't explain it to him in a way he'd understand.

"Just be safe." He stated after a moment. Persephone nodded softly and Poseidon sighed, almost in relief. "Come, Amphitrite has decided that we'll be staying at your house until we leave since it's more homely." He reached out to take her arm to flash away, but Persephone shifted away.

"I've got to tell Luke where I'm going." She stated "I'll be right back." She took off down the beach, slipping a little once she hit the dry sand. A dune separated camp from the beach and she leapt over it gracefully and continued her jog down a well-worn path to the arena. Surprisingly, Luke was the only one there.

"Hey!" she called happily. He had been fighting one of the dummies, but when she ran in he had set down his sword and begun walking over to her.

"How'd it go?" he looked around, as if expecting to be attacked.

"It went fine, I think he's more worried about me going on a quest than anything else." She rolled her eyes and Luke nodded.

"Makes sense. You leaving?" he asked, Persephone nodded in answer and hugged him.

"I'll invite you over and we can hang out before I leave." She stated, Luke smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Okay. Stay safe." He had a darkness in his eyes that Percy couldn't place, but she didn't ask.

"I will." She pauses to watch him. He's hiding something. "Hey, do you need to say something?" It took a moment for Luke to answer, and he walked several feet away, expecting her to follow. She did, of course, and soon they were deep into the woods. It kind of reminded Persephone of the time he tried to kill her, but she didn't mention it to him.

"Have you been having nightmares lately?" he finally asked, turning towards her. Persephone shrugged.

"Just the regular ones." She didn't mention that that morning she'd had a bad one. Luke must have seen her expression though.

"What are they about?" he stepped forward worriedly, but she stepped away, thinking back to the ones she'd had the last few weeks.

"First war and Tartarus." She answered vaguely. Suddenly, arms wrapped around her. Luke rested his head on hers as she gripped him tightly.

"You shouldn't be going on this quest." He whispered. Persephone jumped slightly, but shook her head, leaning into him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I have to go." She muttered. Luke pushed her away from him, holding her by the arms and looking into her eyes.

"Why? You don't even know the quest yet." He shook his head like he was disappointed. A hellhound howled somewhere and both jumped.

"This is why." She muttered after her heart had settled. Luke shook his head, confused.

"I don't want someone else having to go through this." She looked up at him, her eyes pleading.

"Don't do this." He begged her, his eyes held fear and Persephone knew somehow that it was her death he feared.

"Have you been having nightmares?" she questioned. H glared at her, knowing she was going off topic.

"Yes," he paused to run his fingers through his hair "Mostly about Kronos and the first war." He didn't seem thrilled to be telling her this. Percy thought about his words for a moment, leaning against the tree across from him.

"I think Kronos is trying to scare us." She paused to look at him, but looked down as he spoke.

"He wants us to believe that he's more powerful. In truth he has more that he can use against us in the dreams, but he's at the same level of power as before." Persephone wasn't so sure about this, Kronos had seemed pretty powerful when she'd seen him last, but she didn't mention it.

"Yes." She agreed uncertainly and Luke heard it. He tilted his head slightly, watching her for a moment.

"He likes to blow himself up to be more than he is. Don't worry too much about it, okay?" he reached out to hug her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'll see you soon." She whispered. She pulled back to see Luke smile as he nodded. He stopped back, still smiling.

"See you soon. Stay safe." He pointed accusingly at her before running back the way they had come, leaving Persephone alone in the forest. She knew where she was. She only had to take about twenty steps and she'd be on the beach where she had left her father.

"Are you ready now?" he questioned, grinning slightly. Persephone nodded her head as he took her arm.


	44. Properly Educated

Chapter 43-

Persephone had her hands full later that night with Vim. The stubborn little gelding would often throw in a buck or rear to prove that he wasn't completely under her control like another horse would be. Persephone didn't care much about that though, she enjoyed the mindlessness that came with working with horses and pegasi. How she could go into a trance of peacefulness. She had already introduced herself to the four horses that called the barn home, but had only ridden Vim.

_"__And here's another."_ Vim squealed in delight as he kicked his hind hooves out in a marvelous buck that ended with a gigantic twist of his stomach. Persephone was barely able to hang on, but somehow she managed. She saw her dad watching from a corner of the arena and grinned at hi as they flew by in a marvelously, dangerously fast canter.

"Okay, that's enough for today." She had been doing some dressage work with him, getting him to flex and stretch out his legs. The little horse didn't really have the patience though. She slid off onto the ground, wiping the sweat from her brow. Vim snorted, snot dripping out of his nose he decided to rub his face vigorously on her. "Nice." She muttered sarcastically as Vim shook his head, obviously pleased. Persephone hadn't yet started a conversation with the horse, besides the little comments here and there, Vim had decided to keep his mind locked away from hers.

"Well, that was interesting." Poseidon spoke, walking up to them with a grin. Vim bobbed his head, obviously not recognizing the god for what he was.

"Yes." Persephone shook her head as Vim darted around on the lead line, wanting to see everything at every possible moment. "He's still very young." Poseidon nodded in agreement as Persephone hooked the little gelding up to the crossties to hold him still while she brushed him off. Unlike her, Vim had barely broken a sweat and was still full of energy. "Tell Benny that if she wants to work with him, she can go right ahead." She used a soft brush to run it over Vim's body several times as her father stood back and watched.

"He has plenty of energy for her." He replied with a twinkle in his eye. Persephone knew exactly why Benny had picked the little gelding. Unclipping the halter, she pulled it of Vim's head and he trotted away without a second glance. Racing out the back door, he whinnied with joy as he met back up with his friends. Percy rolled her eyes at him. 'Come on, Amphitrite's cooking something delicious." They strode out of the barn.

"Now that everyone knows about Luke and I, what's going to happen." She questioned out loud. She hadn't meant to ask the question, but it had kind of just come out.

"Nothing." Poseidon paused to look at her "You two won't be bothered." He seemed to promise this, and Persephone relaxed a little at this. "All you need to worry about is surviving this quest." He held onto her arm like if he let go she'd disappear.

"Okay." She muttered, knowing that if she worried about dying, she would. Poseidon sighed after a moment and looked towards the house. They could see Amphitrite setting the table and Triton laughing at something she had just said. Sometimes Persephone wondered if it would ever be like that with her and them.

"Come on." He beckoned her with a soft smile and they continued walking towards the house.

Xxx

"Dinner was marvelous, mom!" Triton exclaimed as he walked into the living room after IM'ing Rhode. Persephone was lying on the couch, reading a book and she lifted her feet up so he could sit down. He drummed his fingers in excitement on her combat boots.

"Thank you." Amphitrite answered politely. Both she and Poseidon had been watching Persephone struggle to read her book in dismay.

"Whatcha reading there sis?" He asked, seeing his sister turn the book upside down. 'I don't think that's going to help you any." Persephone glared at him from under the book and he grinned back.

"The Odyssey." She replied, turning back to the book with a frown. Triton as silent for a moment.

'Why are you reading it?" he had heard that most of the demigods at camp had heard the story dozens of times.

"Odysseus decided that Luke and I weren't 'properly educated'" she used air quotes and dropped the book as she did so.

"Interesting," Triton picked the book up and flipped through it before tossing it back to her "What page where you on?" Persephone glared at him as he chuckled.

"No idea." She rolled her eyes as she looked through the book before tossing it back to him in defeat.

"Giving up all ready?' he asked, pretending to be astonished. Persephone rolled her eyes at his acts.

"I'll get a Greek copy from Chiron next time I see him." She mumbled, closing her eyes. Amphitrite and Poseidon had been listening to their conversation, but now started on of their own. Triton listened idly while flipping through the book's pages, adding a soft _swoosh! _Sound to the air every few seconds.

"She's asleep." Amphitrite nodded towards Persephone after a moment. Poseidon sighed in relief while Triton looked on in confusion.

"Apollo told us she most likely wouldn't sleep." Poseidon answered his unsaid question, but Triton was still confused.

"Apollo asked us if we'd make sure she slept at least once in the next few days." Amphitrite explained further "He told us it'd give her a better chance on the quest." Triton nodded, understanding and looked at his sister who lay peacefully next to him.

"I wish she didn't have to go." He whispered, resting his hands idly on her boots. Amphitrite sighed softly while Poseidon ran his fingers through his hair.

"She doesn't have to go." He mentioned. Triton looked up at him with slight disbelief on his face while Amphitrite shook her head slowly.

"She doesn't know that." Triton spoke with quiet clarity and Poseidon finally understood why Percy had taken the quest.


	45. Nightmares

Chapter 44-

"No!" the scream tore through the crisp night air. "Please!" the voice became more pleading, but it still screamed out. Lights flickered on in the house. "No!" The scream left little to be wondered. Whatever the person was seeing, it wasn't good. A crash resounded somewhere in the house just as another sharp cry came out. Poseidon raced through the dark hallway, flicking on lights as he went. The cries came from the bedroom at the end of the hall. He pushed open the door, flicking on the light to see Persephone in fetal position, head gripped in her hands.

"Persephone." He crouched next to the bed, shaking her arm gently. Instead of waking, Persephone curled up further, screaming out again

"Stop!" the voice filled the air and Poseidon shook her harder this time. It woke her, her eyes flew open in a frenzy of fear and pain and she pushed her self away from him quickly, hiding her head.

"Hey." He sat down beside her on the bed, not knowing what to do. Triton stood staring into the room with a half asleep, scared look on his face while Amphitrite looked on sadly.

"Percy." Poseidon put his hand on her shoulder, wincing as she flinched away from it in fear.

"Dad?" she whispered, she let go of her head a little, pale eyes looked at him for a moment in fear, but Poseidon waited patiently, hiding his own fear.

"Yes." He whispered, she practically pounced on him, hugging him tightly and burying her head into him. Sobs wracked her body as she tried to suppress them. Amphitrite pulled Triton away as he looked on, now fully awake. Her sad eyes looked back once more at her husband. This was what they'd been warned of by Apollo.

"It's okay." He whispered, stroking her hair as her sobs calmed a little, her grip on him lessoned slightly, but his grip tightened.

"He wanted to kill them." She whispered. He didn't know what she was talking about, but it broke his heart to see her like this.

"Poseidon." Apollo's voice came from the doorway, he looked like he'd been sleepless for most of the night. He stepped into the room slowly, kneeling next to his uncle. "Hey Persephone." It was like he was talking to a small child. Percy's eyes, which were extremely pale, watched him closely.

"Apollo." She croaked after a moment, recognizing the sun god. Poseidon loosened his grip a little.

"Tartarus?" He questioned quietly, the room was deathly quiet and for a moment, nobody moved.

"Kronos." She whispered, she sat up farther and rested her head in her hands, Poseidon and Apollo glanced at each other, a conversation flickering between them momentarily.

"You need to cancel this quest Persephone." Apollo spoke calmly, but the words held a lot of threat in them. Percy glared at him.

"I can't." she growled. Apollo rubbed his face tiredly as he watched her. She was obviously fighting an internal struggle and with everything going on, it couldn't be good.

"Go back to sleep, we can talk in the morning." Poseidon glared at his nephew when his daughter wasn't looking. Apollo stood up with a sigh and Poseidon followed him out, leaving the door open a crack. They walked down the stairs slowly, both lost in thought. Amphitrite and Triton met them at the door and Apollo watched the family silently converse.

"It's just going to get worse, you know." Apollo mentioned after a second. Poseidon glanced at him, giving him permission to continue. "If Kronos is controlling these dreams, He'll make them horrid. It'll contain her worst fears." He paused for a second and frowned "I got to go, Hermes is calling." It took a moment for Poseidon to understand.

"He's targeting Luke too?" He questioned. Apollo paused and turned back to them. His eyes where dark with worry.

"Yeah." He frowned before shaking his head softly "I'm going to get Zeus to delay the quest a few more days. We need to get Percy stable before she leaves." Poseidon nodded, agreeing with him as the medicine god flashed away.

"Dad?" Triton's voice came worriedly and Poseidon turned towards him "Why's he targeting them?"

"He wants to break them." Poseidon didn't need to say more. Triton nodded slowly before heading up the stairs, Amphitrite stared worriedly at her husband.

Xxx

"Good morning." Triton tried to be cheery as he walked into his sister's room, but his worry must've shown.

"Morning." She answered tiredly, glancing at him. She was fully dressed and lay on the unkempt sheets.

"You know," he paused to give her a slight glare "It's not healthy to keep yourself from sleeping."

"It's not healthy to wake up screaming and unable to tell if it were a dream or reality." Triton stiffened as she said this and she winced "I'm sorry," she began

"Don't be." He sat down next to her, she was staring out of the skylight at the beautiful blue sky.

"Breakfast?" she knew he'd come up for a reason. Triton nodded his head, a mirror across the room reflected the scene back at them and he watched himself run his hand through his hair anxiously.

"Why is Kronos targeting you?" he questioned his sister. Persephone shook her head, sitting up with slight struggle.

"He's targeting those he knows best." She gritted her teeth as she sad this and Triton frowned at her.

"What's wrong?" he questioned anxiously. Percy flung her feet over the side of the bed and leaned over her knees precariously.

"When Kronos tortures your body within a dream, often the pain remains behind." She mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"Are you okay?" He was suddenly worried that she'd hurt herself or something while Percy laughed dryly.

"It's mostly a battle with the mind. A painful one mind you, but this'll go away in a few hours." She mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like hopefully.

"Okay." He resigned to stand next to her and watch as she painfully stood up.

"Let's go." She muttered. He took her arm, as if to guide her and they wandered slowly out of the room and towards the stairs. "Uh." She muttered, staring at the stairs with disdain.

"You could slide down them." He answered. Percy nodded in agreement.

"Good idea." she muttered, sitting down on the edge and sliding to the next step slowly. Triton walked beside her, watching her face carefully. When they were about halfway down, Poseidon appeared. He watched them for a moment before his eyes widened in realization.

"I hope nobody expects me to practice today." She didn't need to say sword fighting because that's obviously what she was talking about. By now she had reached the bottom stair and looked up at her father with a slight smile. He didn't smile back as he watched her worriedly. She stood up and stiffly walked with Triton as their father watched them go. Persephone still had one more level of stairs. Luckily it wasn't as many.

"Good morning!" Persephone greeted Amphitrite with a soft smile. The woman smiled back as she danced around the kitchen, grabbing plats and bowls. Rhode sat at the table with Benny. She gave a halfhearted glare towards Percy while Benny grinned manically.

"Can I work with Vim?" She stuck her face close to Percy's and gave pleading eyes. Percy smiled.

"Go right ahead. Anytime you want to work with that crazy pony you can." These words literally made Benny glow and she flashed out of the kitchen just as her mother was setting a plate in front of her. Amphitrite frowned, but moved the plate over so that it was in front of Rhode instead.

"That was nice of you." Amphitrite commented as Percy sat down. Triton stared at her with surprised eyes and Percy glared at him.

"It's not like I'll get to work with him anytime soon and He needs someone with the same energy level. I've got Blackjack to take care of right now." She spoke with clarity that brought understanding to the others. Rhode frowned slightly at her words though.

"Isn't Blackjack technically owned by Kronos?" she questioned. Percy paused, her water halfway to her lips.

"Yes?" she spoke slowly, as if wondering what Rhode could be getting at. Triton growled at his sister.

"That means that Blackjack is most likely loyal to him, doesn't it?" These words where said just as Poseidon walked in. Amphitrite was watching the conversation, waiting for the moment where she should step in while Triton had deathly glares aimed at his sister.

"I rescued Blackjack from Kronos several years ago. If he were going to betray me, he would've done it long ago." She lay down her words in a way that told everybody that the conversation was over.

"Kind of like how you rescued Luke." Rhode commented, Triton spit water all over the table in surprise while Percy let her aura warp a little, flickering around the room dangerously.

"I think you should take another look at that battle if you think I rescued Luke." She remained calm, but they could all hear the threat within her words.

"When'd you rescue Luke?" Theseus walked into the kitchen with a breastplate on and a sword strapped to his waist.

"More like he rescued me." Percy muttered softly. Theseus already knew what she was talking about and had only been joking. He grew quiet as he sat between her and his father and then jumped, as if remembering something.

"Do you want a training session today?" he questioned. Percy shook her head slowly, swallowing her water before trying to speak.

"I don't think I'd survive." It was partially a joke, but he caught the underlying comment beneath it.

"You too?" he growled angrily "Kronos must be really desperate to be targeting you two."

"Wait, Luke had nightmares too?" she leaned forward for an answer and Theseus nodded anxiously.

"Where is he/" she questioned. The others watched their conversation and Theseus sighed.

"You're not in charge of his life Persephone." He muttered darkly, taking a sip of water from the cup Amphitrite set in front of him.

"No, but you and I both know how Luke thinks." She growled, standing up and taking a step towards him "If he thinks for one moment that his friends or family are in trouble, he will join Kronos again." Theseus sighed at her words and looked up at her.

"I'm on duty in a few minutes so he'll most likely teleport himself here." Persephone visibly relaxed as he spoke, but didn't sit back down.

"I'm going outside." She glanced at Poseidon for permission, which he granted with a quick nod of his head.


	46. Together

Chapter 45-

Percy lay out on the beach, covering her eyes to block out the sun. She couldn't really remember what Kronos had made her dream about. All she remembered was the feeling she had. Fear. Overpowering fear that had taken over her body. She let that feeling overtake her once more and she tried to take hold of it. This time she was able to harness it, like the ocean. Her gut twisted as she let the feeling envelope her over and over again. It was only a few minutes, but finally she let herself focus on the ocean and the almost poetic feeling of peace that came over her when she was near it.

"Hey." Luke's voice came from somewhere above her and she lifted her arm to look at him. He had his hands in his jean pockets and his light grey shirt was darkened with sweat.

"Hey." He sat down, facing her so that they could talk. She could tell that he'd also had a sleepless night. Dark bags hung under his light blue eyes and the way he walked was stiff and forbearing, almost timid.

"Restless night?" He questioned, linking his arms loosely over his knees as he asked. She sat up, crossing her legs and folding her hands in front of her. She didn't know how to answer, and bit her lip.

"Yeah," she muttered, twisting her hands together, "You?" she questioned after a second, letting her hands go limp while she waited for him to answer. Another second passed and she realized he was going through the same struggle she had just gone through.

"Yeah," he sighs "Kronos is sick." He stated. Percy laughed dryly and lifted her face to look at the sun. It's bright, golden light made her shudder softly. The color reminding her of Kronos. She looked away from it, out towards the sea.

"Very." she looked up at Luke and he shook his head at her, trying to figure out what she found funny. 'I can't remember anything." She twirled the sand around her feet and rubbed her face. 'All I know is the feeling I had and then waking up, nothing else." That was what scared her now, forgetting.

"He can't keep this up forever." He muttered, looking behind him at the ocean that crashed against the shore softly. It's blue cut only by the white sea foam that lapped the edge of dry sand.

"He's the titan of time, Luke." She paused when he looked at her "For all we know, this is just a second for him and a lifetime for us." Luke took her hand as she swiped over the sand and began to draw in it again nervously.

"I know," he scooted closer and she glanced up at him with pale eyes. "It's going to be okay, we'll get through this."

"Together." She finished the line he was saying and he stood up, smiling, He held his arm out and she grasped it firmly, pulling herself up. She stumbled back up the sand dune, Luke a step ahead of her. He kept glancing back at her and finally she glared at him and he raised his arms in surrender.

"Did you finish Odysseus's homework?" Luke questioned as they walked through the back door, she rolled her eyes.

'No." she snorted and he shook his head, mumbling something about having read it in Greek and Odysseus not being happy with her.

"He's testing us on it today." Luke spoke loudly as they walked through the dining room door. Triton, who wasn't facing them, jumped and spun around with wide eyes. Theseus was no longer at the table and Poseidon and Amphitrite had disappeared.

"Where'd everybody go?" Persephone sat down opposite of a plate somebody had left on the table, it was still filled with food. She looked at it loathingly as Luke hung back hesitantly in the doorway.

"Olympus, again." Triton watched her hesitantly and slid the plate in front of her "You need to eat." Persephone rolled her eyes again and grabbed the fork. Even though it was a bowl of yogurt, toast, and eggs; it made her stomach roll. She frowned slightly and took a small bite of the yogurt, almost choking as bile rose up in her throat.

"Swallow." Luke sat down across from her and stared at her intently, as if waiting for something to happen. Her stomach tightened reflexively as he swallowed and she coughed a little. Both boys frowned, but didn't say anything.

"I can't eat all of this." She glanced painfully at the food in front of her. Triton gained a sorrowful look in his eye as he rose up from the table.

"I'll see you in a few hours, I've got to go to the meeting." He mumbled, glancing at Luke hesitantly before flashing away. Persephone stared at the spot he'd disappeared from for a moment before shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

"Eat." Luke spoke when she went to set down her fork. She glared at him and he leaned back as if he had all day.

"I hate you." She mumbled under her breath, picking her fork back up and stuffing a small bit of egg into her mouth.

"Hmm." He raised an eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes, choking again as bile rose in her throat. 'It's not going to get any easier." He muttered, watching as she took another bite of food. Percy shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand, closing her eyes for a moment.


	47. First fight, kind of

Chapter 46-

"Where's Percy?" Triton questioned as he walked into the house through the front door. Poseidon followed behind and both stared at Luke who sat at the bottom of the staircase with his head in his hands. He lifted his head up to look at Triton before answering.

"Upstairs," he paused "Throwing up." Poseidon grimaced while Triton's face paled slightly.

"How much food?" he didn't finish the question, but Luke understood.

"About four bites. I followed her up, but she kicked me out." Luke sighed and rubbed his face worriedly while Poseidon side stepped him and trotted up the stairs. Triton sat down beside Luke and both where silent for a few moments.

"Zeus wanted to cancel the quest, but the fates stepped in." he paused as Luke sucked in a deep breath "They said it's important for Anthony and Percy to retrace their steps. They've granted until Friday for her and Anthony to begin their quest." Luke nodded his head slowly.

"Four days." he paused to sigh "Who is the third on this quest?" Triton was silent for a moment after this question before shaking his head.

"The fates have decreed that only two are allowed to go." As Triton said this, Luke bit his lips and glared at the ceiling.

"Of course." He muttered, standing up angrily "They've doomed her from the start." He walked out, the door slamming behind him. Triton watched him go with a slighted gaze, but shook it off quickly.

"Maybe, but the fates have no rule over me. They do not choose when I die." Persephone's voice, although weak, sounded behind them and they turned to see her smiling softly at them. "Two is enough on a quest of this type." She said more to herself, then to them. Poseidon stood behind her, arms out as if to catch her if she where to fall.

"Uncle Zeus would like to have a meeting again this afternoon." Triton paused and looked at his father for permission before continuing "You are invited to join for part of it."

'Do I have to sit still?" she questioned. Luke snorted while Triton pretended to think about it.

"I would assume so. If our cousins can do it, I think you can too." Triton answered with a slight smile. Persephone's eyes lit up.

"Which cousins?" she questioned anxiously. Luke stood up and turned to her with a pointed expression but Percy ignored it.

"Jason, Thalia, Nico." He paused "Odysseus, Achilles, and Theo will also be there." Percy jumped excitedly and Poseidon reached forward to grab her. She couldn't see him, because he was behind her, but Triton had to cover his laugh with a quick cough as his father glared at him.

"Nico's been ignoring me," Persephone pouted for a moment "And I haven't seen Thalia in like, forever." She grinned as Luke rolled his eyes art her.

"Don't you miss Jason?" he questioned, demigod moods tended to rub off on each other, so Persephone's sudden excitement and energy had sent him into a glorious mood.

"Yes, but I saw him the night-" she paused as if realizing what a sore topic that was, but it was too late as Poseidon winced and stepped around her and into the kitchen. Her gaze watched him go before falling back on Luke.

"Understandable. He's like certain pills. He comes with an amount of time needed before seeing him again." Persephone gaped at him as he said this while Triton full out laughed, not even bothering to try and cover it.

"I could say the same for you." She retorted after a second. Triton's mouth formed a small o while Luke tilted his head to look at her.

"I guess I've overstayed my claim then, haven't I?" With that, Luke walked out of the house, the door slamming closed behind him.

"Did I just witness your first fight as a couple?" Triton questioned after a moment as Percy came to stand next to him with a slight frown.

"I think so." Her mood was damper a bit and she led the way to the kitchen with a slow, methodic pace.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Percy." Triton started, following her and watching her rapid mood change with concern.

"Something's bothering him." She glanced at him worriedly before dropping her face. They passed through the kitchen, but where met with whispers between Poseidon and Amphitrite, so they moved onto the living room which was much more homely.

"Something is always happening Persephone." He tampered slightly with his words, so to lighten the mood.

"That is why I am worried." She frowned and sat on the couch, facing the fireplace with concern. Her forehead was beaded with sweat and Triton felt worried for her health.

"What could he possibly do?" As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Persephone glared at him.

"He could join Kronos and ruin my well thought out plan." She answered. For a moment, Triton was shocked.

"You've got a plan?" he questioned her eagerly, sitting up from where he had been lying on the couch.

"Not yet." She grinned at him and he grinned back knowingly. Poseidon's children were not known for planning ahead. "But what if decides to go hero/" she questions, suddenly worried again. Triton understood why she was worried, but didn't show it.

'Don't worry, Percy." He tilted his head to watch her for a moment "He's already done that once." This made her stiffen and Percy glared at him once again.

'What are you two talking about?" Poseidon's voice came from the doorway as he walked through. He and Amphitrite sat down on the couch with Triton.

"I witnessed her and Luke's first fight." Triton held smugness in his voice that made Percy want to roll her eyes.

"Oh?" Amphitrite questioned. Poseidon leaned back against the couch and carefully watched his daughter's reaction.

"He said something, I said something back, and it will be fine." She flipped her wrist as if it were no big deal, but inside she was still worried.

"Uh huh." Triton rolled his eyes, unconvinced while Persephone shook her head slightly to shut him up.

"Okay." Poseidon's voice made the two jump and they glanced at him expectantly "Are you going to the meeting?" Although it wasn't optional, the question was asked out of politeness. Percy nodded quietly while Triton stood up and brushed his hands together out of eagerness.

"Let us be going." He grinned with delight as his mother sighed and stood up along with her husband. Percy groaned and stood up a moment after to follow her family up the stairs.


	48. Loyalty is very different

Chapter 47-

Percy stood outside the throne room with Apollo. The medicine god had called her out for a moment, saying he needed to talk to her before the meeting started.

"How much have you been eating?" he questioned. Percy grimaced and shook her head as if to say, not a lot.

"I could only get down a few bites this morning, but I threw it all up along with some blood." She admitted after he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Hm," He muttered, looking up at the light blue sky for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm glad you don't give up easily." Percy grinned at this statement, but Apollo's frown made it fall off her face quickly.

"I'm sorry I haven't been the easiest patient." She mumbled, looking up at him with sorrowful eyes. Apollo shook his head softly and smiled at her.

"You haven't, but it's giving me a good challenge." He answered after another moment of silence. Their conversations where font like this. Threads of words followed by silence. In a way, it was comfortable.

"Why haven't you given up?" she asked quietly. He was leaning against the wall, so she hopped up on the railing of the small balcony and faced him.

"Why would I give up?" he tilted his head in questioning. Percy bit her lip, wondering if she should continue.

"I'm just a demigod." She started, Apollo finished for her though.

"You're not just a demigod, Persephone." He closed his eyes momentarily "A normal demigod would have fallen long ago. They never would've been able to survive what you've soon and done."

"They could've." She defended. Apollo laughed tersely and shook his head, not agreeing with her.

"No, Persephone." He paused again "You single handedly decide the fate of wars. You do what you must and don't think of self-preservation." Another pause "You are not a normal demigod, Persephone Jackson. You are much more." He tilted his head towards her in a gesture of respect while Percy dropped her head, blushing slightly.

"I'm a normal demigod, Apollo." She looked up at him "I fight the good fight. If it means sacrificing myself for my friends, I'll do it. It's in my blood, my fatal flaw, and I'd have it no other way." As she said this, Apollo grinned and shook his head at her, causing her to glare at him.

"You just proved yourself wrong." He stood up and approached her with a grin "No other demigod would say that. That," he paused and grinned even brighter "That is what makes you different." She shook her head, but didn't answer him. Tilting her head in respect, she leapt off the railing.

"Loyalty. Is that so different?" she looked up at him and he glared at the sun, which shown brightly down at them.

"Yes, Percy. Loyalty is very different."

Xxx

Percy was still pondering on his words when she walked back into the throne room. A mop of black hair and roman armor stood in front of Zeus, talking idly while the other gods took their seats. Persephone grinned and took off at a jog towards the demigod she knew. She leapt into the air at the last moment and wrapped her arms around her cousin's throat. A start from the demigod under her and a jolt of electricity running through her made her wince and grin.

"Hello." She muttered into his ear, grinning wildly. Zeus stared at her in shock for a moment before shaking his head.

"Hello, cousin." Jason spoke quietly as Percy let go and he turned to face her. His eyes held a sad look about them and Percy knew it was directed towards her.

"I've got a favor I need to ask of you." She tipped up onto her toes before rocking onto her heels in excitement. Jason rolled his eyes and looked at her expectantly.

"Go on." He pretended to be bored, looking around the room as if it interested him more than the conversation her was having.

"Distract Nico." She stage whispered before taking off behind the thrones. Several of the gods watched her go with surprise while Jason rolled his eyes.

"Where'd she get that energy?" Poseidon questioned his nephew, watching her disappear behind Hermes throne.

"She's still your champion, right?" Jason turned to his dad for confirmation. Zeus nodded slowly, still watching where Persephone had disappeared.

"I shocked her, which most likely provided her with a hell lot of energy." Jason nodded, agreeing with himself as Achilles and Odysseus walked in.

"I thought Persephone was going to be here?" Achilles questioned, sitting down with Odysseus beside Hestia's hearth. She smiled warmly at them as they acknowledged her with a short bow.

"She is." Jason rolled his eyes and went to sit at the base of his father's throne while the gods began to take their respectable places. Luke and Theseus walked in just as the last god had taken his seat. They bowed to Zeus before sitting at respectable thrones.

"We are waiting on Hades, I have invited him up, as he is a respectable part of this council." Zeus leaned back in his throne while.

"My father is running late. We had a security problem in the fields of punishment."  
Nico's voice echoed around the room as he stepped out of the door's shadow. He glanced around the room, quietly studying each individual. He stepped forward, towards the middle of the room, but a soft whistling made him stop. Looking around, he saw Jason desperately waving his hands.

"She's right behind me, isn't she?" he questioned, looking at Hestia for conformation. The goddess grinned as a groan came from behind him.

"You were supposed to distract him!" she yelled at Jason, who smirked back at her victoriously. "What a great cousin you are." She mumbled under her breath before turning to Nico with a grin. He frowned back and her grin faltered. Nico crossed his arms and stared down at her with a grimace that thickened the atmosphere of the room considerably.

"Want to explain something to me?" Persephone's eyes hardened and she growled softly at him. The room was deathly silent, the shadows around the room thickened.

"Hey." Thalia's voice came from somewhere behind them and in a flash she stood between the two demigods, glancing back and forth between them. Electricity coursed through her hands and while Nico backed away warily, Persephone lunged. "Hey!" Thalia's voice came louder this time as Percy punched Nico in the face.

"I was protecting you!" she partly growled, partially screeched. Nico growled back, shoving her over so that her had advantage.

"I don't need protection!" he growled back, pulling out his knife. Commotion around the room dies down as he does so.

"You did, then!" she hissed back, shoving at the arm with the knife, Nico tried to grab the arm, but ended up slashing it open with the knife instead.

"Technically, I am much older than you!" he howls as she shoves him off of her. She flips herself onto her feet just as he lunges himself back at her.

"Stop!" Jason's voice rises above the commotion as he grab Persephone under the arms and drags her back. Thalia leaps at Nico and shocks him. Smoke rises from his body as he collapses on the spot.

"What the hell was that?" Thalia screams angrily, approaching Percy. She drew her knife as she approached and Jason stepped quickly in front of Persephone.

"Thalia. Thalia!" he said it cautiously at first, the boldly. Thalia's eyes flicker to her brother before she lets her knife arm drop. "Go, and get him out of here." He growls, jerking his head at Nico, who's begun groaning on the floor.

"Seriously?" she hisses, lifting her knife back up. Jason leans forward, reaching for his sword, which hangs loosely at his side. "I should be the one telling you to leave."

"That's enough!" Zeus's voice comes loudly as he steps between the two siblings. They quickly snap out of it to realize that most of the room is surrounding them, in human form. Jason turns, pushing Persephone towards a side door, glaring at his sister.


	49. She blames herself

**I am so sorry! I should've updated like two or two and a half weeks ago! I have no idea what happened, time flew by so fast! I had these chapters already uploaded and was going to update, but it never happened. Again, I am SO sorry!**

Chapter 48-

"What was that?" Jason growled once they got out of the room, he paced the hallway angrily while Percy leaned against the wall, sighing.

"Nico's good at holding grudges." She closes her eyes for a moment, listening to Jason huff, upset.

"Yes, I know he is!" Jason spun around to face her, electricity sparked in his hair as he stepped towards her.

"When I sent him back from the edge of Tartarus, it was the last straw for him." She slid down the wall and placed her head tiredly on her knees, the power surge from the shock long gone.

"Percy," he kneeled down next to her and she lifted her head to look at him. Green eyes met blue and Jason shook his head "I don't know a lot about what's happened between you two, but I know that you've always tried to be his friend. Now it's up to him to decide if he wants that or not."

"I should've tried harder to save Bianca." She muttered. Jason almost fell over in shock. He knew the story, almost everyone did.

"Persephone," he shakes her gently, forcing her to look at him "That wasn't your fault." She drops her head back down and takes a deep, shuddering breath. The door behind Jason opens and closes quietly and he glances back to see Poseidon standing there quietly.

"I never should've let her enter that robot." Jason sits down, leaning against the wall beside her.

"It wasn't your fault." He whispers, not knowing what else to say. Poseidon's eyes are wide as he watches and Jason knows before she even answers that he's in over his head with this discussion.

"How would you know!" she screams at him, flinging herself at him, Jason stands as she punches him and holds her fists. Poseidon steps forward quickly and Jason moves out of the way while Percy lets herself drop back to the floor.

Xxx

"Nico!" Jason calls out his cousin's name as he enters the throne room again. The gods are seated and watching his sister and Nico talk quietly. Thalia's swinging her hands around while Nico rolls his eyes every one and a while. They all turn to look at him as he strides across the room. His eyes grow steely as he takes in his younger cousin. "Your fatal flaw." He reminds the demigod. Nico gulps and tilts his head, questioning.

"Yes?" Nico replies, most of the gods are paying careful attention to the conversation. Thalia, having seen the look on Jason's face, is standing slightly between the two.

"Holding grudges." Jason pauses and takes a step closer to Nico "What grudge have you been holding for several years?" Nico bites the inside of his cheek, contemplating how to answer.

"None. I forgive so that it does not become my fatal flaw." He answers wisely, it's not true though.

"Not true, Nico." He pauses to take a deep breath and control his emotions. "There is one thing you've never forgiven, Bianca." Silence rings around the room as Jason says the name that's known for bringing out Nico's anger.

"I've for-" he starts to say, but Jason holds a hand up to stop. Thalia's glaring at him having stepped behind Nico to let the cousins figure it out.  
"No, Nico. You haven't" Jason paused again and he saw the truth in Nico's eyes "You can't openly blame someone for something that isn't their fault, especially if their fatal flaw is loyalty." He lowers his voice for the second half of the sentence, and only Thalia can hear him.

"What?" Nico answers, slightly confused. Thalia gasps softly while Jason shakes his head.

"Maybe you don't blame Percy for that anymore, but she still blames herself." Jason tilted his head towards Nico, who bows his head ashamed.

"She blames herself for everyone." The voice behind Jason startles him and he spins around to come face to face with Luke.

"What do you mean?" Jason questions, the gods have now caught up in the conversation and watch in attentive silence.

"Bianca di Angelo, Zoe Nightshade, Lee Fletcher, Castor, Charles Beckendorf, Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard, Kinzie, Phoebe, Naomi, and Celyn." The names bring back sharp memories for most in the room and silence ensues. "There is most likely more that I don't know about." Luke states after a moment.

"Most of those deaths couldn't have been prevented." Zeus states after a moment. Thalia turns to look at him, smiling sadly.

"That's where Percy's fatal flaw comes into place. She can't help but blame herself." The other mortals in the room nodded in agreement and again silence ensued.

"Let us begin the meeting." Zeus stated after the moment had passed and the gods had begun to whisper among themselves. The demigods respectfully took their allotted seats below their parents' thrones. "We will be talking about the quest for the first part of the meeting. Athena talked to the fates while we had our short break and she has somethings she'd like to share." He bowed his head respectively for his daughter to begin.

"I believe that Persephone Jackson should be present for this." She stated, looking to her father for permission.

"Very well, we shall wait." He spoke with an irritated tone and Thalia raised her eyebrows at her brother knowingly.

"No need." Percy's voice came from the side door as she and Poseidon entered the room. "You can continue." She smiled at Athena, who shockingly smiled back. Poseidon sat down on his throne and Percy sat next to her brothers. Since Triton wasn't usually apart of the council, he sat on the floor with her and Theseus.

"As my father mentioned, I talked to the fates earlier about the quest granted to my son and Persephone Jackson." Percy sat up straighter as this was said and Triton glanced at her before turning back to the goddess. "The fates decided that Persephone and Anthony are to defeat Laden and visit Atlas to learn something from him." Percy frowned at this and rolled her eyes as most of the room's eyes fell on her.

"Like I'll learn anything useful from him." She mumbled, just loud enough for a few of the closer gods and demigods to hear.

"They are to begin at Camp Half blood and end on Olympus." Athena finishes, glaring slightly at Percy for interrupting her. Percy nods in understanding while Triton frowns slightly.

"That means they'll be traveling a lot through forested areas and on foot, right?" Triton questions, standing up. Many of the gods nod their heads, answering him. Triton starts to speak again, but Percy interrupts him.

"Triton, I've been doing this since I was twelve, with minimal training." She pauses "I think I can handle this." Triton frowns as she says this, and Apollo voices his thoughts.

"You haven't been on a quest where you've been with a disadvantage, though." He states. Percy stands and faces him, brushing off her jeans.

"Every quest has its disadvantages. Maybe this one has a few that are bigger than the ones I've had in the past, but I don't think it'll be a big deal." She states "Anthony and I have been on several quests and although I hate to say it, I trust him on this one." She faces Triton as she says this last part and he sighs defeated.

"So, we've got several other things to discuss," Zeus starts, "So we need Percy to leave." This must have been discussed before, because a few of the gods pretend they're busy while Persephone turns to glare at him.

"You do realize that whatever you are discussing can't be worse then what I've seen and heard?" she questions. A few of the gods shake their heads warningly at her, but Zeus just rolls his eyes.

"You can argue with your father on this one." He states, eyeing his brother. Poseidon's eyes grow wide as his daughter turns her glare on him. Luckily, Triton steps in.

"I'll tell you all about it if you leave." He smirks at her as she contemplates what he said. Finally she lets out a long, suffering sigh and turns towards the doors.

"Fine." She growls as Theseus smirks at her from his seat and Jason snorts in amusement "I'm not a little kid." She growls under her breath, bringing laughter to several of the gods as she exits the throne room.


	50. Why the forges?

Chapter 49

"You know, compared to our ages, you are a little kid." Apollo's voice came from her right as he said this. Persephone glared at him as she swung her feet idly off the edge of Olympus. The only place you could really do this took forever to get too, but it was worth it in the end. It must've taken the god ages to find her.

"Compared to people who die, I'm not." She stated back, kicking out at a cloud and swirling its misty water around her feet. Apollo sat down next to her, careful not to hang his feet over the edge.

"Yes." He replied hesitantly, watching her for a second. Persephone leaned over the edge, looking down at the soft city lights that she could see when she swirled her feet enough to disturb the clouds.

"Why aren't you in the meeting?" she questioned, looking up at him. Apollo rolled his eyes at this.

"They're talking about your condition, apparently they don't need a doctor there." He's upset, that much she can tell.

"You can go back if you want." She stated and Apollo dryly laughed, swinging one of his legs down off Olympus.

"Unless I can find another who can adequately watch you, I have to stay with you." He growled out in frustration. For a few minutes, they were silent, before an idea popped into Persephone's head.

"You know, its summer and Camp Half-blood most likely has several of your children there." She mentioned. Apollo brightened immediately at the idea and stood up, reaching out a hand to help her up.

"What are we waiting for?" he exclaimed, she grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. Just as she stood up, they flashed away.

Xxx

An hour later, Percy sat on a medical bed, watching Will Solace organize the medicine cabinets.

"So," they'd talked some at the beginning, when she'd first come. Now it was just weird having to be babysat by a person her age. Will mumbled something and turned to look at her for a moment.

"How long do you have?" he questions, leaning against one of the medical tables. Percy leans back against the wall, looking over at Argus, who only has one eye open.

"We don't know. My condition varies from hour to hour. Apollo believes that I have a couple of weeks, but we truly don't know." Will frowns at the thought of his father not knowing and turns back to organizing.

"What are your conditions now?" he asks as he strides across the room to stash a bottle of red liquid in a different cabinet that has a large padlock.

"This morning I threw up blood." She offered, Will turned towards her again and muttered something.

"I'm going to go do some research, but you should be a lot farther along than that." He stated.

'Well, I'll take my condition as a good thing then." She mentioned. Will nodded, walking towards the door, deep in thought.

"Hey," he turned back to her "Can you stick with one of the cabins while I do some research?" he questioned, walking backwards out the door.

"Yeah," she grinned as he trotted out the door and she was finally free. Most of the cabins where annoying, with the younger kids looking at her like she was a model. Only one cabin had never been rude to her.

Xxx

Apollo appeared in his throne in the midst of a deep argument. Artemis glared at him accusingly while the others gradually drew silent as they realized he was sitting there.

'Where is my daughter?" Poseidon's anger was barely contained as he gripped his trident. Apollo leaned back, relaxed.

"Don't worry. She wanted to be dropped off at Camp Half-blood, so I left her with my son." Most of the gods relaxed as he said this, but Poseidon stood up, upset.

"You were supposed to keep track of her." He growled, stepping towards his nephew. Zeus leapt out of throne to stop his brother.

"Relax Poseidon, we'll just head to camp and pick her up." The demigods in the room nodded in agreement while a few of the gods dropped their heads and groaned, having hoped that the meeting wouldn't take forever.

"Everyone who doesn't want to be a part of this meeting can leave." Zeus called out as he and Poseidon walked towards the doors. Demeter, Dionysus, Aphrodite, and Ares flashed away. The others stood slowly and followed their king out of the throne room.

Xxx

"Will!" Apollo called to his son, stepping into the big house where Chiron had told him his son was.

"Where's my daughter?" Poseidon called from behind him, threateningly. Will's eyes widened as he closed the book he had been flipping through/

"She went to hang out with one of the other cabins' while I researched some stuff for her." He stated quickly, raising his hands in surrender. Apollo sighed exasperated as the other gods rushed out of the room.

"Poseidon!" Athena called out as the god began to rush towards the cabin area. "We can rule out several cabins to start with." Poseidon slowed to a stop and reluctantly came back to the group.

"She wouldn't be Ares, Dionysus, Aphrodite, or Demeter." Athena started off. Luke stepped forward quickly.

"You can rule out Hermes and the minor gods cabins, they all worship her." He stated. Hermes nodded in agreement.

"We can also rule out my cabin, she wouldn't want to be there." Athena stated after a moment.

"That leaves Hephaestus though." Poseidon stated confused. Thalia grabbed Jason's arm and pulled him to the side, discussing something quickly with him while Nico stepped forward.

"Percy hangs out in the forges a lot, you know." He offers quietly. The others glance at him in confusion as Thalia steps to his side.

"Percy spent a lot of time there, she helped out some of the younger kids. She told me once that Hephaestus cabin was the only one that didn't look at her differently when she was claimed."

"Where's the forges?" Zeus questions. Most of them shrug their shoulders, but Hermes steps forward.

"Follow me." He states, he sets off at a brisk pace. It was quite the sight. A mixed group of mortals and immortals briskly setting off for the edge of the cabin clearing.


	51. I don't care

Chapter 50-

The forges where dark and hot as the entered. Cyclops and demigods trotted around the underground forge, carrying different materials, most looking smoldering hot.

"Hey, are you looking for Percy?" A soft, male voice questions. The gods look down to see an eight year old boy looking up at them with a red hot glowing sword in his hands.

"Yes, we are." Hestia steps forward to idly address the boy "Could you tell us where she is?" she questioned. The boy nodded victoriously and pointed the partially smelted sword towards a door to their left. "Thank you!" she replies as her brothers' rush by, towards the door.

"Welcome to Charles Beckendorf's personal forge, if you have not been invited in, leave." An automated voice spoke over an invisible intercom. The gods glanced at each other quickly before turning back to the room that sat before them. "You've got three seconds to leave." The voice spoke again as the gods moved forwards. A few seconds later, ropes sprung out of a few hidden hatches in the ceiling and entangled themselves around the gods, forcing them to the floor. After struggling for a few moments, the gods looked at each other for help before realizing they were all in the same situation.

"It's a good thing Beckendorf wasn't the murderous type." The voice of a teenage boy came from above them. A dark haired boy came down a set of cobblestone steps towards them. He had on regular camp armor and flicked his hand towards them. The ropes untangled themselves from around the gods, who leapt to their feet furiously.

"What was that/" Zeus cried in anger, Hera quickly stepped forward to calm her husband while the demigod in front of them raised his arms in surrender.

"That was security put in place by Charles Beckendorf, my half-brother." He shook his head quickly and stepped around them, towards the door "Percy's up in the loft." He pointed up towards where he'd come from before leaving.

"I hope there's no more security." Zeus mumbles as they trot up the steps in a single file line. Entering another room, lit only by blue flames torches on the walls.

"I thought you had a very important meeting that I couldn't attend?" Persephone questioned. She was lying on a deep, brown couch, flipping back and forth through an old paperback.

"They decided that my son was most likely going to kill you." Apollo's whiny voice came from the back of the group. Percy turned her head and glared at her father.

"Why is it that when I suddenly am on my death bed, all of you care about me?" she questions, flinging the book aside and sitting up with her arms crossed. Several of the gods suddenly have great interest in the floor. "I've lived at this camp since I was twelve." She growls, standing up, eyes dark.

"Yes," Poseidon starts, but Percy holds up a hands to stop him.

"If you all can suddenly decide to overwrite the laws, why didn't you do it a long time ago?" she questioned, her eyes growing darker by the second. Nobody answered her, not even Hestia who watched her with sad eyes. "You know what, I don't care." She growled, shoving through the group and exiting the room.

"Hey!" The demigods hadn't entered the forges, having been made to stay outside because of the heat within them. As Percy strode out, Thalia called to her, but Persephone turned away from them and strode quickly towards the forest. Thalia started after her, upset, but Jason held her back.

"Let someone else handle this." He hissed. When she looked to him in confusion, he nodded his head towards a blonde figure jogging towards the place Percy had entered the forest.

"Luke." She nodded in acceptance and Jason let go of her shoulder. Behind them, the heard rustling and the door opening. Out walked the gods with loos of embarrassment.

"Should we be worried?" Thalia questions her father, Nico, who had been watching where Percy had disappeared turned towards them with a frown.

"No," at the sound of a cough from Hermes, Zeus sighed "At least, I don't think so." This brought raised eyebrows from the demigods.

"What happened?" Theseus stepped towards his father, waiting for an answer, but again, it was Zeus who answered.

"Persephone Jackson is," he paused to choose his words carefully "upset with some of the choices that we gods have made." A snort behind him made the demigods glance at each other worriedly.

"So it's probably not a good thing that the only one she has to rant to is a former traitor?" Nico questioned, ignoring the glares from most of the group. Most of the gods looked lost about how to answer.

"Actually, he's most likely the only one who can get her calmed down enough to think rationally right now." He answered, stepping forward to nod respectfully towards the king.

"No offense, but how do we know he's not working for Kronos again?" Triton questioned quietly, Nico nodded in agreement.

"Did any of you ever see what happened when Kronos was defeated in the throne room?" Thalia questioned, tilting her head suspiciously at her father.

"No." he admitted slowly, dropping his head as Jason turned to look at him in surprise. Thalia sighed.

"So, I'm guessing none of you know what really happened that night." She spoke quietly and the gods turned to look at her in confusion.

"Yes, we do. Persephone Jackson got a lucky shot at my son's vulnerable spot." Hermes stated and Thalia snorted in contempt, but didn't answer.

"Persephone was able to get Luke back into his right mind before handing him the knife that ended his life and with it, Kronos." Anthony Chase's voice came from their left, and everybody turned to look at him "Sorry, was walking by and heard the conversation" he shrugged as if he wasn't really sorry and continued on his way.

"Is that true?" Zeus questioned, turning towards his daughter. Thalia nodded softly, looking back at where her cousin and Luke disappeared.

"So, when Percy stated that Luke was the true hero, she wasn't just being loyal to the person who was once her friend." Hestia stated, finally understanding the true story.

"I believe Luke has always had a soft spot for Percy," Thalia glanced back at the gods "It's easy to see when you review the history." She smiled softly and grabbed Jason's arm, pulling him towards the archery range.

Xxx

"Hey." Luke spoke softly, so not to spook Persephone, but he did anyways. She jumped and spun herself around, Riptide partly uncapped in her hands.

"What do you want/" she muttered, turning herself back around, towards the darkened forest. Luke studies her for a moment. Her eyes where dark and glossy, as if she were holding back tears.

"I know what you're feeling." He whispered, leaning against the wall above her. Zeus's fist was more of a tiny ledge then anything, and there wasn't really room for both of them to sit comfortably.

"No, you don't." she hissed, twirling the pen between her fingers and watching its gold highlights glitter in the sun.

"Really?" he questioned, forcing her shoulders to stiffen at the slightly hostile tone in his voice "Because I remember sitting exactly where you are, thinking the exact same things at the exact same age." He made it seem like he was much older than her, but that was how it was for a demigod, even if you were one or two months older, you saw more than the other person.

"I'm not thinking of joining Kronos," she muttered, looking up at him quickly "I just don't understand why they suddenly care."

"They've always cared, Seph." He stated, sliding down and hanging his legs over the ledge. Percy glanced over at him, wiping her face quickly.

"Maybe," she didn't quite believe him, and he sighed. Percy twirled the pen again, the light momentarily blinding Luke.

"I think they've always cared, Percy." He shifted so he was partially facing her, the most he could do. "I think they're learning how to show that they care, I think that you're teaching them." This made Persephone look at him, her eyes where bright from crying and tears stained her cheeks.

"I thought you were the one that told me a long time ago that we're just pawns." She whispered, tilting her head in slight confusion. Luke laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I was a little overdramatic then." He rolled his eyes again and Percy stilled her pen, watching it for a moment.

"I hardly remember what it was like before I was a demigod." She spoke louder, more normally and it made Luke jump in surprise.

"You've always been a demigod." He smirked and grabbed hold of the wall quickly as she shoved him.

"I meant since I learned I was a demigod." She glared at him from under her eyelashes.

"Yes?" he answered, telling her to continue.

"I went from a girl who didn't know how to kill to a hardened warrior who knows how to make dying hurt." She twirled her knife again and Luke reached out a hand to steady it. Talking of killing and twirling a pen that turned into a deadly sword where not two things that went together peacefully.

"I wouldn't say that," when she gave him a confused glance, he shrugged "You're not war hardened. Not yet, you still mourn for those who have been killed." She nodded as he said this, but shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not ready to face them." She whispered. It had been several minutes since he had spoken. Luke wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him.

"You don't have too." He whispered into her ear. She snorted and looked up at him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"But I do, they're all over now a days." She whispered, as if it were a big secret. Luke laughed for a moment before letting his face grow serious again.

"If you aren't ready, you don't have to talk to them." He mumbled into her hair. Percy nodded softly.

"Dinner will be soon though," she looked up at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Have you forgotten that Hermes is still the god of travelers?" he questioned. Percy sat up and looked at him with widened eyes.

"Your right!" she partially yelled, making Luke wince since they were so close. Percy was almost buzzing with excitement as she began to get up. Luke pulled her back down though.

"Hey, let's just stay here for a while, okay?" he questioned. Percy thought about it for a moment before nodding and leaning back into him.

"I love you." He whispered, kissing the top of her head. Persephone mumbled something back and Luke rolled his eyes.


	52. Side Effects

Chapter 51-

Percy and Luke made their way slowly back to camp after a while. Luke had his arm slung lazily over her shoulders as they made their way into the dining pavilion. It grew mostly silent as demigods and gods alike watched the two walk in, laughing about something known only to them. To the old campers, it was weird seeing their hero interact so easily with a traitor. Both sat down at Hermes table, not bothering to offer food to the gods. Hermes, who sat on the opposite side of the table, watched two for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and going back to interacting with the youngest in the cabin.

"It's amazing, really." Percy spoke after a moment, she was watching the other tables interact with their godly parents.

"It really is." Luke nodded in agreement as he turned for a second to gauge what she was talking about.

"I never would have believed someone if they told me that one day I'd be able to watch this." Persephone spoke quieter after a second and Luke smiled at her.

"If someone told me I'd be dating the two time hero of Olympus, I wouldn't have believed them." He grinned as she threw a carrot at him, which he caught quickly in his hand and ate.

"It's nice not being alone at a table." Percy glanced over at Poseidon table, surprised to see that Triton, Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Theseus all sat watching her while Benny spoke to them, making wild hand gestures that they nodded mutely too.

'Yeah?" Luke questioned, turning to glare at Theseus as Percy began to shut down her emotions.

"Yeah." she answered, ducking her head and playing mutely with her food. Luke watched her for a moment.

"How much of that are you going to eat?" he questioned, Percy glanced up at him with dark eyes and set down her fork.

"None of it." She answered. Luke sighed and shoved her drink towards her, twirling his hand over it so that the coke she had turned to water.

"Hey!" she retorted. Luke grinned at her and Percy couldn't help but give a small smile back.

"If you aren't going to eat, you should at least drink something." He answered, shoving a large bite of brown rice into his mouth. He had practically drowned the stuff in soy sauce and Percy looked on in mild disgust.

"You know you ruined the healthiness of the food by putting that stuff on it?" she questioned, taking a small bite of her plain rice. She could tell it wasn't going to sit well with her, but her body was also protesting her having thrown up her entire four bites of breakfast.

"I've been dead." He shot back, before chewing another bite and swallowing "Believe it or not, Elysium doesn't have the best food." Percy rolled her eyes at his statement.

'I've eaten down there before and I've got to tell you that it doesn't beat my mom's cooking," she hesitated for a moment "But it's still good." She finished softly. Luke looked at her sadly for a moment before shrugging.

"Maybe what you ate, but that's because when you were eating, it wasn't being controlled by the control freaks." He nodded his head in the direction of Odysseus and Achilles. Percy rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to win this one." She sighed and too another bite of rice as her stomach rolled. Closing her eyes she rested her forehead in her hand for a second, forcing herself to swallow. Nausea floated around her as she set down her fork.

"Hey, you okay?" Luke questioned, setting down his fork quickly as he noticed her reaction.

"Yeah, fine." She replied faintly. For a moment, she tried opening her eyes, but the room spun. A second later, someone laid a hand on her shoulder, making her jump.

"How much?" Apollo's voice came from beside her and she relaxed slightly, laying her forehead against the table and slightly opening her eyes to look at the darkened state of under the bench.

"Two bites." Percy could hear the hesitation in Luke's voice as he spoke and Apollo sighed in response. It was becoming hard for Percy to breathe, the smell of the food was making everything worse and she dimly heard her plate slide away from her face.

"Okay, I'm going to get Poseidon-"

"No!" Percy said it quickly, lifting her face slightly from the table before coughing. Luke sighed as she set her forehead back on the table.

"Seph, please." Luke new that he'd be able to change her mind, so he used a slightly pleading voice as he spoke. Persephone stiffened, but gave in.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Apollo spoke quietly as his hand left her shoulder. Luke mumbled something in reply just as another being sat down next to her.

"She doesn't want to talk right now." Luke's voice was slightly cold ad Percy wondered who it was.

"I know." Nico's voice came from beside her "But if the little kids at this table for some reason look over here, there'll be unwanted questions." He spoke softly and Percy heard Luke huff slightly in agreement.

"Okay, Percy." Apollo was back, he sat down on the bench next to Luke and watched her worriedly "The cabins are beginning to leave, do you think you'll be okay for a few more moments/" he questioned.

"Yeah." She replied softly, the nausea was beginning to disappear now that she breathed through her mouth, but the air was still heavy with scents.

"Hey, are you okay?" Poseidon's voice came from behind her, his hand lay on her shoulder.

"Nothing serious, just a reaction to food." Apollo tried to say brightly, but wasn't able to hide the worry. Percy listened as cabin after cabin left, the dining pavilion growing quieter until there was only Hermes cabin left. They too, after a moment, got up and left. Their laughter slowly fading away.

"Luke, you can go." Percy muttered, able to breathe normally again. Nico had left with Hermes cabin, so now it was just Apollo, Poseidon, Luke and her.

"AR you sure?" he sounded hesitant, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to leave her in the care of the two gods.

"Yeah." She whispered. She wasn't yet ready to talk to her father, but she didn't have much of a choice now. She felt Luke's hesitation as he slowly got up, but eventually it was just the three left.

"Okay, ready? "Apollo must have gotten up when Luke did, because his voice came from her right. She lifted her head, but was met with a wave of dizziness that forced her to close her eyes.

"Come on." Poseidon's voice was gently as pulled her to her feet. She rocked slightly as she fumbled to step over the bench. "Keep your eyes closed, I won't let you run into anything." She didn't like following blindly, but knew she had no choice in the matter. She could feel Apollo's aura coursing around worriedly.

"You should go to your cabin," she turned her face towards where she thought he was "I'll be fine."

"Okay." He muttered, more hesitantly then even Luke. "I'll be over in the morning as long as nothing happens tonight." Percy hoped nothing would, but with her, she never knew.


	53. Feel like Death

Chapter 52-

Percy watched through partially closed eyes as Triton and Theseus tried to be discreet about watching her. After about half an hour of the two switching on and off watching her, she sighed and opened her eyes fully to look back at them.

"Are you guys going to sit there watching me all night/" she questioned. Both looked at her for a moment like they had no idea what she was talking about.

"Eh, yeah." Theseus finally answered, Triton glanced at him, looking betrayed.

"It's not very polite." She spoke softly and Triton snorted while Theseus laughed.

"No, it's not, is it?" Triton questioned, looking at her with pale green eyes that portrayed worry. The only emotion that seemed to be in his eyes now days.

"You guys can come over if you want." She mentioned, sitting up slowly, leaning against the wall for support. Theseus was the first to jump up, he sat down at the foot of the bed, facing her and began to clean one of his knives.

"How are you feeling?" Triton questioned, slowly walking over. He had most of the emotion shut down in his eyes, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"Tired." She replied softly. Triton nodded his head slowly as he sat down next to her. They were left in silence for a few minutes and Percy spun Anaklusmos around her fingers slowly, watching as it glinted lightly. A gentle knock at the door made the three look up and Theseus groaned softly.

"I forgot, Odysseus wanted to talk to me." He hissed in frustration and stood quickly as the person at the door knocked louder.

"Hey!" Odysseus exclaimed happily as Theseus flung open the door, irritant. Percy smiled welcomingly at him.

"What did you need?" Theseus questioned, coming back to sit on the bed and watching as Odysseus sat across from him.

"Nothing, really." Odysseus shrugged as Theseus glared at him with a deadly look in his eyes.

"Then, you can leave." Theseus growled, flicking his hand towards the door. Triton and Percy stared at him in shock, but Odysseus just grinned.

"Theseus, be nice." Persephone murmured, shaking her head as he picked his knife back up and began cleaning it again.

'Yeah, Theseus, be nice." Odysseus grinned as he repeated her words while Percy turned a glare on him.

'You are in the Poseidon cabin, it wouldn't be good if you really got one of us angry." She mentioned. Odysseus rolled his eyes at her, but changed the subject.

'How are you feeling?" he questioned, leaning against the wall and watching her. Theseus was still glaring at him, but he was dutifully ignoring it.

"Eh." She replied, shrugging "How do I look?" she questioned. Odysseus seemed to study her for a moment.

"Tired," he looked like he was struggling on if he should say more "Your eyes are really pale and your aura has lost a lot of its vibrancy." She knew this wasn't what he was going to say originally, but she took it.

"I feel like death." She mumbled, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes.

"You look like death." A familiar voice came from the back doorway and Percy smile without opening her eyes "Not that I've ever met him." She could almost see the shrug he gave.

"Hey Achilles. Thanks for the honesty." She replied to his remark. She heard him sit down next to Odysseus and could feel the tension throughout the room.

"What do you need?" Theseus almost spat. Persephone opened her eyes to glare at him.

"Technically I'm still head camper in this cabin, so when I say to be nice, I mean it." She hissed, Theseus turned his glare on her, but it didn't last long and the facade fell away for a moment. In that moment, she saw how tired and upset he was.

"I'll be out on the dock." He replied gruffly, standing up and walking out the back door. Percy watched him go before turning back to the two visitors.

"This cabin really should have a back door." Achilles muttered. Percy bit her lip, but it was Triton who answered.

"We hate to be closed in, if it were possible, this cabin would be under water." He glanced at Percy as he said this, but she didn't contradict him.

"Makes sense." Achilles answered, Percy nodded slowly and closed her eyes again, hoping to catch some rest in between talking.

"You need sleep." Achilles murmured thoughtfully after a moment. She heard him stand up, as if to leave and Percy opened her eyes again.

"I won't be sleeping tonight." All three glanced at her in confusion and she realized she probably should've just kept quiet. "Nightmares." She answered their questioning glances, knowing that the answer wouldn't be enough.

"Well, try to sleep anyways" Achilles answered, not satisfied with her answer. She nodded numbly as he dragged Odysseus to his feet and they left through the back door.

"If you want, I'll stay up and wake you if I see that you're having a nightmare." Triton offered, she turned her head to look at him and shook her head softly.

"It'll be almost over by the time it is obvious." She shuddered and her eyes darkened. Triton stood up and stretched, looking at the clock that hung on the far wall.

"Well, I'm calling lights out since technically I'm the oldest camper." He smirked at her as she rolled her eyes.

"You're not a camper." She stated, throwing her covers back and climbing under them.

"I'm still head of this cabin." He raised an eyebrow at her as she shook her head and Theseus walked in with a slightly pleased look on his face.

"Actually, I'm head of this cabin." Poseidon's voice came from the doorway and they turned to look at him in surprise. 'I've got to go to Atlantis, Rhode's upset about something and she won't tell Amphitrite." Triton sighed in exasperation as he said this while Theseus just laid down on his bed.

"I hope she doesn't cause any weather." Triton answered quietly, stepping over to a window to look out at the cloudless sky.

"Hopefully not." Poseidon answered tiredly, running his hand through his hair and turning to Persephone. "You need to get some sleep."

"Yeah, I've heard that several times already." She answered quietly. Trying to hide the discomfort that lined her face for a moment.

"Okay," Poseidon glanced at them all and shook his head "Why are you three so easy and then those two are like-" he didn't finish for fear of one of the two he was talking about where listening. The others understood though and smiled at him. 'Lights out." He called as he stepped back out the door. The cabin went dark a second later and soon after, Theseus's soft snores could be heard.


	54. Questions with no answer

Chapter 53-

Persephone jolted awake. A layer of sweat gleamed on her face as she sat up slowly, convincing herself that it had only been a nightmare. Gods, it had seemed so real. She threw her feet over the edge of the bed, stepping lightly onto the cool floor and making her way silently to the bathroom. The door shut behind her with a click and she flicked the light on.

For a moment, everything was a bright glare, but her eyes adjusted to the harshness. She sighed a quick sigh of relief as she felt the pull of water deep in her gut and the faucet turned on, leaning over the sink, she splashed her face with the freezing water. She looked ragged and worn as she watched herself in the mirror. Now she knew why the others were so sad. Her cheekbones where prominent and she could see her collarbone, her pale skin almost translucent. Persephone looked worse than Hades children.

"This is going to work." She whispered to herself softly. Kronos was holding nothing back, trying to break her. The images in her mind where gruesome and painful. They flooded her mind like a creek after a storm. "Tae control." She hissed, daring her eyes to show the horror within. They didn't, instead gleaming with the light that had led others. "If this is the end, you better make it good." She murmured, leaning forward so that the only thing she could see where the waves in her eyes. Their tips now rose with golden tips, softer then Kronoss, these where kind and homely, like Hestia. Around the edge of her eye was a slight change, the sea green faded into a sky blue, like the ocean did close to shore.

"Hey, are you alright?" Triton's voice came quietly from the other side of the door, Persephone cracked it open just enough for him to slip through.

"Yeah," she replied, closing it behind him. She leaned against the counter while he watched her for a second.

"Let's go to the beach tomorrow." He declared suddenly. Persephone frowned at him, wondering what he was thinking.

"We're on a beach." She nodded her head and he laughed, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed.

"I meant the beach at your house." He spoke quietly and she realized that she should as well, because Theseus was still asleep.

"If you want." She shrugged her shoulders, as if she didn't care and Triton nodded vigorously.

"It's been forever since I've been able to just mess around with water, not actually have stuff to do." He grinned and Persephone couldn't help but grin back. Just then, a knock on the door sounded, startling them.

"If you guys are done having some top secret meeting, I'd like to come in and actually use the restroom." Theseus sounded crabby and Persephone flung the door open, skipping lithely around him and sitting down on her bed. Theseus had turned the lights on and Persephone realized that the conch horn would be sounding soon. Streaks of light lit the sky and Persephone stepped out onto the dock, watching as the water reflected the sky's reds, pinks, purples, and blues.

"When's breakfast?" Theseus's voice came behind her. He sounded slightly more cheerful and Percy turned towards him.

"Soon." She replied, sitting down on the dock and letting her toes dip into the lake. Theseus lay down on the dock, covering his face with his arm.

"Good, I'm going to sleep a little more." He muttered. Percy rolled her eyes and looked back up at the sky. The last of the stars where disappearing and only the tip of the huntress's bow remained.

"Why are you two out here?" Triton appeared in the doorway with a grumpy look on his tired face.

"Waiting for breakfast." Percy answered, glancing at him quickly. Theseus lifted his arm to look at his brother also, but didn't say anything.

"This early?" he questioned, astonished. Theseus raised his eyebrows while Persephone rolled her eyes, leaping to her feet.

"I'm going to visit the big house." She mentioned, stepping over Theseus. Triton followed her back into the cabin.

"Why?" he wondered aloud. Percy grabbed her pen off her nightstand. She was still in her pajamas, blue flannel sweatpants and a long t-shirt.

'I don't know." She shrugged and stepped towards the door, twirling her pen in her fingers, a thoughtful look in her eye.

"I guess I'll come with then." He shrugged also and followed her out the front door and down the cabin steps. Persephone thought she wouldn't see anybody, but as she reached the bottom of the steps and looked around she realized several of the gods where sitting out on their cabin steps. She and Triton nodded politely as they passed by some of the minor cabins along the way, but couldn't ignore Zeus as he stepped out onto his porch.

"Uncle." They bowed their heads respectfully as they approached and he nodded back to them.

"How're you feeling?" He turned to Persephone, questioning her. Percy smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Pretty good today. I want to do a little training this morning. Triton and I are going to the beach tomorrow ."

"Good." He paused and looked towards Triton for a moment before turning his gaze back on her. "Are you sure you want to go through with the quest?" he questioned. Percy frowned and almost snapped at him, but quickly remembered who she was talking too.

"I have to go." She answered, looking towards the big house, then at Triton. Zeus seemed to notice this and sighed, exasperated.

"Okay, well," he paused "I'll see you two at breakfast." He turned around and stepped back into his cabin. Persephone let out a sigh and shook her head, continuing on her way.

"Why do you have to go?" Triton questioned as they continued. Persephone glared at him viciously.

"I don't know." She answered, striding ahead. Triton rolled his eyes and chased after her.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" he hissed, catching up to her. She strode quickly up the big house steps and yanked the door open. "Persephone!" he tried to catch her attention by yelling her name and she spun towards him.

"What? What do you want me to say? I don't know! I can't give you an answer!" she screamed at him, her eyes where blurry with tears and he took a step back.

"Perc." He spoke softly but she shook her head, biting her lip.

"Just go, you've got your answer." She growled. He looked behind her to see Dionysus standing in the middle of the room, handing a book to Achilles. Both stared at the in shock.

"Fine, but I'm not satisfied with that answer." He hissed, spinning around and striding out of the big house, the door banging shut behind him. Percy sighed deeply as she watched him go and tried to get ahold of her composure.

"I'm going to breakfast." She heard Dionysus speak softly behind her before he passed her and stepped out the door, closing it softer then Triton had.

"Persephone?" Achilles held a questioning tone as she turned towards him.

"I'm fine." She shook her head quickly, as if clearing her thoughts. Achilles nodded and sat down on one of the old couches while she sat in the armchair.

"Why'd you come here?" he questioned after a moment. Percy rolled her eyes quickly before folding her arms.

"Theseus is crabby today and I wanted to get away from everyone who felt sorry for me." She muttered. Achilles nodded slowly, staring off into space.

"Hey!" he exclaimed suddenly, startling her. "Would you want to wake Odysseus up with me?" he questioned. Percy grinned darkly.

"Would I be able to scare him?" she whispered, looking towards the hallway. Achilles grinned back, standing and pulling her to her feet.

"Of course! That's the point!" he exclaimed, pulling her down the hallway towards the one closed door. "I'll open the door, you do the rest!" he whispered excitedly, making Percy pause.

"Why me?" she questioned, hissing as the floorboards creaked under their feet.

"Because he'd probably kill me!" he growled, not angrily. Percy rolled her eyes and punched his arm as he reached for the door handle.

"How do you know he won't kill me!" she exclaimed. Achilles grinned wildly at her.

"Your our little sister, we could never hurt you!" he twisted the doorknob as he said so and shoved the door open just enough for Percy to slip in, which she did only after rolling her eyes and glaring at him.

**I hope you guys enjoyed and I'm sorry again for my late update!**


	55. Tell me

Chapter 54-

Odysseus's room was dark as the door closed behind her. Persephone glanced around quickly, seeing that his armor and weapons lay spread out along one wall and along the other lie stacks of books, some of them lying open on the floor.

"Wake up!" she declared, leaping up and sailing through the air towards him. She felt her knee collide with his chest. As Percy landed, she rolled to the side so that she didn't hurt him in the process. Odysseus sat up quickly, eyes wide with battle fever, but when he saw her, he groaned and fell back, closing his eyes and groaning slightly.

"Did Achilles put you up to this?" he questioned, looking up at her. Percy leaned against the wall so that she sat facing him and grinned.

"Yep. Breakfast is soon, so you'll want to get up." She nodded to herself and Odysseus threw his pillow over his face.

"I'll skip." He muttered. Deep chuckling came from the doorway and light streamed in as Achilles stepped in.

"I don't think Chiron would appreciate that. He's having us teach today." Leaning against the door, he declared this in a bored way.

"Great." Odysseus replied sarcastically, throwing the pillow at him. Achilles caught it and threw it back.

"Just get up." Achilles stepped back out, flicking the light on as he left. "And discuss our relationship with Persephone with her!" he shouted. It sounded like it came from near the front door, as soon after, it slammed shut.

"Huh?" Odysseus looked at the door in questioning and Percy shrugged her shoulders.

"He said you guys think of me as a little sister." She didn't think of it as a bad thing, but she didn't believe it either. Odysseus sat up slowly, leaning against the headboard and looking questioningly at her.

"You are our little sister Perc." He exclaimed quietly. Percy looked up from where she had been toying with her pen, her eyes where sort of hopeful.

"Really?" she questioned, she was quiet, but her voice was excited. Odysseus smiled at the energy.

"Well," he grimaced slightly "I'm not sure if Luke thinks the same way, but-" she hit him, hard, but he just laughed and through his pillow at her. "Now go! I've got a dozen things I need to do before breakfast." He exclaimed. She shook her head and leapt off the bed, landing lithely next to the door.

Percy skipped down the hallway, lost in thought. She wondered if what they said was true, but mostly believed it. She almost skipped through the living room without stopping, but couldn't help noticing the centaur standing in the middle of the room.

"Persephone, my dear!" he exclaimed, setting the book Dionysus had handed Achilles down and stepping towards her "Do you have a moment to talk?" he questioned. Persephone groaned inwardly, because no matter how much she wanted to talk to her mentor, it wasn't about what he wanted to talk about.

"Yes, I do." She replied cautiously. Chiron stepped closer to her and looked around for a moment, as if trying to figure a way to ask a question.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, looking down at her with dark, brown eyes.

"Pretty good. It changes throughout the day, but right now I feel like none of this happened." He nodded softly and looked thoughtful.

"You really should be more advanced than that." He studied her for a moment before shrugging. "You've always been a fighter though." He turned around and Percy knew their conversation was over and somehow that his last comment had been a compliment.

"Thank you Chiron," she hesitated, unsure if she should continue "For everything." Turning away, she saw Odysseus standing beside the door, waiting for her. He must have gotten his dozen things done.

"Don't take it personally, he separates himself from those he can't save." Odysseus nodded sadly towards the big house.

"I know." She whispered, turning to look back once. Odysseus sighed, looking at her sadly. "What?" she questioned.

"Nothing." He rolled his eyes briefly and she sent him a quick glare. Huffing a sigh, she pulled him to a stop, stepping aside to let a few minor gods pass before talking.

"Tell me." She growled, crossing her arms. Odysseus rolled his sleeves meticulously, paying special attention to making sure they were even. "Odysseus." Her voice held warning in it, but he just sighed and looked at her again. "Gods! I'm sick of nobody telling me what's going on!" she screamed, storming away from him, back towards the cabins.

"Percy!" He called after her, but she didn't turn to look at him. He could see the waves lapping angrily at the shore and ran his hand through his hair, stressed. "Persephone!' he called again, this time louder, but she still didn't turn. Rolling his eyes, he began to jog after her.

"Odysseus!' he heard Theseus call his name and quickly turned around. Theseus was chasing after him, but it still took a moment for the green eyes demigod to catch up. "Don't chase her. It'll just end up worse for you." He wheezed.

"Who told you that?" he questioned. Theseus shook his head slowly, but didn't miss a beat in answering.

"Sometimes, Poseidon's children just need a few minutes to cool down. What'd you do anyways?" Theseus tilted his head in question and Odysseus shrugged his shoulders.

"She said she was sick of nobody telling her what's going on." He replied, behind Theseus, he could see Achilles walking towards them with a grin.

"There's a lot more she doesn't know is happening." Theseus frowns as he says this and runs his hand wearily through his hair. "I should never of participated in that Rise." He whispers softly as Achilles steps up to them.

"What? Why?" Achilles questions, coming up to them and staring at him in shock.

"War is much more complicated now than when we were the heroes." Theseus offers, watching where his sister disappeared with worry.

"Eh," Achilles shrugged "Persephone will figure it out." He knew who they had been talking about, and although he had an upbeat voice, his face portrayed what the others were feeling.

"Hopefully." Theseus sighed, running his hand through his hair once more before turning back towards the dining pavilion. "Let's go get breakfast."


	56. Ichor and Blood

Chapter 55-

Persephone ran into the dining pavilion at lunch time. She had been training since early morning and had some business to attend to. To talk to the one she needed to talk to though, she needed a distraction. Seeing her victim, she grinned to herself and grabbed his sun bleached, blonde hair.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow! What the Hades!" he was yelling as loud as he could by the time Percy got to Dionysus and Chiron's table.

Without looking up, Dionysus spoke to her "Persephone Jackson, Torturing an ex-boyfriend is not allowed at Camp Half-blood."

"I need to speak with you." She hissed quietly. She began to notice the stares she was getting as she shoved Anthony to the ground and kept her foot on him to keep him from moving. Finally, Dionysus looked up at her.

"It looks like you've been tortured." His eyes were questioning as he stated this and Percy quickly crossed her arms to cover the blood.

"Nosebleed." She under toned. Anthony had finally gotten to his feet, but stared at her cautiously, wondering why she'd dragged him up to the front of the dining pavilion.

"Uh huh. Speak." Dionysus looked back down at his food as he ate, but Percy didn't speak.

"Privately, sir." She gritted her teeth as she said this. Dionysus looked at her again and huffed a deep sigh.

"Fine." He growled, standing and gesturing for her and Anthony to follow him to the Big House.

Xxx

"Okay, what's up?" Dionysus crossed his arms as he turned towards her and Anthony. Percy looked at the ceiling, wondering slightly how to word what she was about to say.

"Anthony, you can leave." She spoke quietly and Anthony looked at her with disbelief.

"Are you serious?" he questioned angrily. Percy frowned as she looked at him, but looked to Dionysus for help.

"You heard her." He pointed his hand towards the door and rolled his eyes as he leaned against the back of one of the worn out couches. Anthony huffed a sigh and slammed the door shut.

"I need you to swear o the river Styx that you won't repeat this to anyone until I give you permission." Her face must have been more desperate then she thought because he quickly swore the oath.

"Now, what?" he was irritated, but hadn't yet vaporized her which was a good sign. She breathed a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Pulling one of the knives out of her pocket, she looked down and quickly slashed open her wrist.

"What the Hades!" he swore, jumping towards her in surprise. Percy pulled back and held up her wrist. "By the gods." This time, it was whispered as he stared in amazement at her wrist and took it quickly.

"I believe it just started today." She whispered. Pulling her wrist back and sweeping her hand low, pulling a bandage of water over it. He was still staring at her in amazement, but quickly snapped out of it as she did this.

"It's not a lot, you're not fully immortal yet." He frowned as he looked closer at her shirt and saw the little golden droplets that he hadn't noticed before.

"Ichor is the blood of the gods! Why is my blood turning to it!" she yelled, she was panicking, but Dionysus grabbed her shoulder and steered her to the couch, sitting her down on it.

"Calm down, we've got to tell someone about this." He was serious now, but Percy stood up quickly.

"You took an oath." She warned. He rolled his eyes at her and leaned back against the couch, suddenly looking very tired.

"Yes, I did. Why'd you come to me for this?"

"All the other gods would flip. My father would probably take me to Apollo and demand something be done, Triton can't keep a secret, your father would most likely kill me, and Artemis wouldn't know what to do." She sat back down, facing him.

"I still don't understand why you came to me." He questioned again. Percy sighed and stared at her hands.

"I'm going to die on this quest." She looked at him with certain eyes "I want to die a hero."

"Someone will need to take your side." He finally understood why she had told him. "Why me?"

"You have the excuse of being my camp director." She spoke with confidence in her idea and Dionysus nodded in agreement.

"You're not going to die." He spoke with clarity and she glared at him. Her green eyes growing dark.

"Either I die by the hand of my enemy or by my father's words." she stood and looked down at him with a slight glare "I'd rather die a hero, then a victim." With that, she walked away from him, the door slamming shut behind her and leaving an eerie silence in the room. Dionysus was still trying to comprehend what he had seen and heard.


	57. The End

Chapter 56-

"Want to explain why I'm your personal punching bag?" Anthony growled, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind the Big House. Percy hissed in surprise before whipping her sword out.

"Only if you want to explain why you didn't break up with me before getting with her." She didn't care really, but it was partially an answer to his question.

"Really?" he exclaimed questioningly. She raised her eyebrows at him and dropped her sword slowly. "Walk with me." He began to walk and she rolled her eyes, but followed. "You're going to have to trust that I won't hurt you." He didn't look at her as he spoke, but Percy stared at him in surprise

"You threatened me!" she almost yelled it, but quickly stopped herself and instead, whisper-yelled it.

"Well, yeah." He shrugged nonchalantly and for this, she smacked him in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"This! This is why I hate you!" she growled, spinning in front of him. Behind her, he could see the waves starting to crash against the shore.

"What? Because I'm an uncaring psychopath?" he tilted his head and his eyes danced darkly.

"Yes." She growled, walking away from him. Seeing her brothers talking near Zeus's cabin, she strode towards them, hoping Anthony wouldn't follow.

Fate was not in her favor as he grabbed her upper arm, nails digging into her. She yelped as he pulled her towards him. "You think Luke loves you, but he won't once he knows you, once he sees who you really are!" he hissed into her ear, his hand held her arm in a vicelike grip that brought back bad memories.

"Let my sister go." The deeply threatening voice came from right behind her shoulder. Anthony looked at whoever it was behind her and let a little of his fear show as he shoved her roughly into the man behind her and strode away angrily. "You okay?" Triton's voice came softly as he helped her stand. Percy ducked her head to get ahold of herself, not letting the fear show.

"I think so." She whispered, looking up at him. His eyes were dark with anger, but it wasn't directed at her.

"I'm going to kill him!" spat Theseus from beside her. His aura flew around him angrily and she took a step away from him.

"Theseus." Triton warned, staring at her. Theseus took control of himself immediately, but his aura still flickered.

"Don't worry, he'll probably get himself killed on the quest." Percy began to walk away from them, towards Poseidon cabin. Her head was spinning and she felt extremely dizzy from the onslaught of memories from Tartarus. Slowly, she climbed the steps into the cabin and let herself drop onto her bed.

"Percy?" Theseus jogged into the cabin with Triton close behind. His voice sounded worried as he kneeled down next to her head.

"What's wrong?" Triton questioned, kneeling beside him. Percy stared between the two, out one of the windows, towards the lake.

"No matter what I do, I can't get away." She whispered, curling up, she hid her face between her arms, cloaking herself in darkness. One of them put their hand on her shoulder and she involuntarily flinched.

"I've got a class to teach, but I'll be back." Theseus spoke to her softly and she nodded her head, not letting any light into the little box she'd created. Persephone heard him walk cautiously out and down the steps. Triton's hand remained on her shoulder for a few moments before dropping off.

"You have a meeting." She mumbled, knowing that Amphitrite had wanted to speak with him about Atlantian army.

"I don't have to go." She could barely hear him as he said this, he was so quiet. Percy lifted her arm a little to glare at him.

"Yes, you do." She hissed, knowing that his mom would be mad if he didn't go.

"I'll be back soon." He watched her for a moment before disappearing in a burst of seawater.

Xxx

Percy hadn't been expecting anyone for quite a while. She let herself breakdown a little, tears streamed down her face as she hid in her box.

"Percy?" the voice was soft and unexpected, Percy jumped at the sound, but lifted her arm a little to look at the blonde haired boy that stood in her doorway.

"Luke." She whispered, not letting her emotions show. She didn't hear him walk, but suddenly found that he was sitting next her.

"What's wrong?" he lifted her arm gently from her face. Noticing the tear streaks and the slightly fear in her eyes, his face grew soft.

"Nothing." She mumbled, turning away from him, staring at the wall dejectedly.

"Uh huh." He muttered, not believing her. Percy sighed softly and rolled onto her back to glare at him.

"He sort of threatened me again." She didn't have to say who, as Luke's face grew dark instantly.

"I'll kill him!" he leapt up, but Percy grabbed his arm.

"Get in line." She muttered, hoping it eased some of the tension "Theseus called first dibs, but I'm sure he'd let me do the honors, if you're really nice, maybe I'll let you chop off an arm or something." He eyes grew thoughtful and he rolled his at her.

"Ha ha." He jumped over her and slouched against the wall, sitting next to her pillow. Both where silent for a few moments, but eventually Percy at up.

"How do you kill a monster without becoming one?" someone had asked her the exact question long ago, an enemy that was about to resurface.

"Percy," he drew her to him, resting his chin on her head "You're not a monster."

"How do you know? We think of murderers as monsters, but we're no better. I remember every demigod I killed in battle. Every face." She looked him in the eyes and noticed that his where sad.

"I know. I see them too." It wasn't the answer she was expecting, and she buried her face in his shoulder, hugging him. Silence settled comfortably around them, and incidentally, Percy fell asleep.

Xxx

Anthony's words echoed throughout Percy's head as she fell into the darkness of her dreams. They were tainted with visions of Kronos rising. She couldn't escape, she felt as if she couldn't breathe.

"Foolish girl." He whispered as Tartarus raged around her. Glass cut into her feet and poison crept into her lungs. "You will never escape me. Forever more, I will haunt your dreams. Not even in death will I part from you." His voice hissed into her ear, bt when she turned, all she saw was darkness. The ground fell out from beneath her as she fell. It was like the fall into Tartarus, but darker, faster, deadlier.

"I see them too." Luke's voice echoed in the chasm around her and all the faces of those she had killed appeared around her.

"You killed us." They whispered "You must pay." They growled, they closed in around her in flashed of color.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, falling headfirst into the chasm, she watched as they too appeared upside down.

"No your not. You never where and you never will be." They smirked down at her. "Since the day you killed a fury, you've been a monster. Didn't you know? There is no way to kill a monster, without becoming one yourself." Towards the end, it sounded more and more like Kronos.

"Remember, I promised to break you." He grinned evily as he appeared next to her, arms crossed. Anger crept into her as she watched him, so leaure filled in front of her.

"You will never break me." She hissed, lunging for him. Red surrounded her, blood colored.

"We'll see about that." He smiled at her, his golden eyes flashing. She was drawn into them. She saw camp in ruins, her friends screaming for someone, blood red rose petals on the camp lake.

Xxx

"Persephone!" she jerked awake, leaping out of the bed and swinging her sword blindly at whatever it was that had woken her. "WOAH!" the yelled, she heard them stumble and her vision cleared. Luke stood in front of her, arms raised in surrender, a look of fear complete on his face.

"I'm so sorry!" she yelped, dropping riptide and flinging herself at him. He caught her easily and held her close in a hug.

"It's fine." He smiled down at her as he set her down. "You could never of killed me." He shrugged his shoulders and she tilted her head to look at him.

"Why?" she questioned. Luke grinned at her and swept his arms wide, his eyes crazy.

"I'm already dead, darling!" he yelled, leaping out the window with a laugh. Percy rolled her eyes as she watched him race away. Smiling softly as she realized she'd never felt something like this before.

"Well, that's one way to get away in a hurry." The voice behind her startled her and she spun to see Triton grinning at her from the doorway. "Hey, sis." He stepped towards her, eyes suddenly questioning. "You should come see this." He hissed, reaching for her arm and pulling her out the back door, onto the dock. Persephone gasped in surprise.

"What is this?" she spun around slowly, taking in the sight around her. Blood red, rose petals sat still upon the lake water. A dull mist above them brought out there deep colors and Percy was brought back to what she had seen in Kronos's eyes.

"I don't know, I figured you might, is it some type of demigod tradition?" Triton asked, completely oblivious. Percy shook her head slowly, dipping her hand in the water and pulling out a few rose petals.

"No, it's not." She was haunted by this. Had Kronos shown her the future, and why?

"Well, it's a mighty good prank. I'll have to remember it." Triton chuckled and walked back into the cabin. Persephone let the petals fall from her fingers back onto the dock.

_"__Loyalty is deadly, Persephone. Eventually these petals will die, and so will you. Loyalty has always been your end, my dear." _Kronos's voice echoed throughout her head and she hissed angrily at him.

**The End of Petals on the Sea**


	58. Sequel update

**Petals on the Sea**has a sequel that is up. It's called **Shallow Depths** and starts where **Petals on the Sea**ended. I know the ending of this story was extremely bad, but I felt that **Shallow Depths** would be better if I made the two stories flow together evenly. If you start Shallow Depths and are at all confused, please PM me and I'll be happy to explain.


	59. UPDATE!

Hey everyone! So, I decided to write another Persephone Jackson story. This one is completely different then the Petals on the Sea series and I hope you'll at least give it a chance and let me know what you think of it. I'm already having LOTS of fun writing it, as I believe it's going to be some of my best writing yet.

After careful thought, I have decided to name it,

**Falling for the Sun**


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